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name
HARRIS, Preston - Date of
birth
30 November 1920 -
Age
23 - Place of
birth
Texas -
Hometown
Hunt County, Texas
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
38117537 -
Rank
Private First Class -
Function
unknown -
Unit
E Company,
2nd Battalion,
405th Infantry Regiment,
102nd Infantry Division,
3rd Platoon
-
Awards
Bronze Star,
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Missing in Action - Date of
death
22 November 1944 - Place of
death
Beeck, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten -
Walls of the Missing
* This soldier has been accounted for. A rosette has been placed next to his name.
Immediate family
-
Members
Thomas H. Harris (father)
Susan M. (Hale) Harris (mother)
Leaman Harris (brother)
Carroll J. Harris (brother)
Codle H. Harris (brother)
Leo M. Harris (brother)
Leland T. Harris (brother)
Troy D. Harris (brother)
Maple V. Harris (sister)
More information
Pfc Harris was a farmer before he enlisted.Records show that Pfc Harris was killed on 22 November 1944 near Beeck in Germany. He was officialy listed as killed in action but the location of his body was unknown. The family was told that he might have been buried in an unmarked grave at a military cemetery in the Netherlands.
In June 2003, a German company removing unexploded ordnance from the battlefield uncovered humain remains in an unmarked grave. The personal items found led officials believe that the remains were that of a U.S. soldier.
The remains were transferred to the U.S. Army Mortuary Affairs Activity in Landstuhl, Germany. A team from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command at Hickam AFB in Hawaii went to the Beeck area and excavated the site. The investigators used dental and medical records to indentify Harris.
Thanks to this investigation some of the personal items of Pfc Harris could be returned to his family.
His family also chose to bury him in his hometown in Greenville, Texas. The funeral was on 12 March 2003. His name remains on the Walls of the Missing at Margraten. The family Frankhuizen have adopted his name and visit the cemetery on regulary basis to honor him.
According to one of the men in his company, they were in a field when an 88 mm round came in on him an another comrade.
Source of information: Astrid van Erp, Raf Dyckmans, Josine Frankhuizen, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.ancestry.com
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.findagrave.com