Albert T. Harris
Encyclopedia
Albert Thomas Harris was a lieutenant
in the Naval Reserve
who served during World War II
. Lt. (j.g.) Harris was a posthumous recipient of the Navy Cross
.
, Harris attended North Georgia College and the University of Georgia
before enlisting in the Naval Reserve
on September 10, 1940. After a period of training, some of which he spent on the battleship New York (BB-34)
, he was discharged on June 15, 1941, to accept an appointment as a midshipman in the Naval Reserve the following day. After receiving training at the Naval Reserve Midshipmen's School at Northwestern University
, he was commissioned an ensign in the Naval Reserve on September 12, 1941.
. He reported for duty on board that ship at Pearl Harbor
on the afternoon of January 6, 1942.
Two days after he reported, his ship sailed with Task Force (TF) 8 as part of the force covering the movement of marines to Samoa
. Detached from TF 8 to provide local cover for the newly arrived forces at Tutuila
, San Francisco then rejoined her old division, Cruiser Division 6 (part of TF 11), soon after clearing Samoan waters on February 8. Ens. Harris saw his first action on February 20, 1942, when San Francisco screened the aircraft carrier Lexington (CV-2)
as TF 11 battled Japan
ese land-based bombers off Bougainville
in the Northern Solomons
. San Francisco received credit for downing one of the attacking aircraft.
On March 10, 1942, the cruiser stood ready to protect Lexington, as that carrier and Yorktown (CV-5)
launched a successful surprise attack on enemy shipping off the New Guinea
settlements of Lae
and Salamaua
. In the spring of 1942, Ens. Harris's ship escorted convoys between the United States, Hawaii
, Australia
and the Fiji Islands
.
After seeing a convoy safely to Fiji in July, San Francisco joined the expeditionary force bound for the Solomon Islands, in the initial assault phase of "Operation Watchtower"
, the invasion of Guadalcanal
. His ship covered the landings on August 7, and, following a logistics period at Nouméa
, New Caledonia
, covered a supply convoy to Guadalcanal. During the latter movement, he witnessed the loss of the carrier Wasp (CV-7)
on September 15. He took part on the Battle of Cape Esperance
on the night of October 11 and 12, and participated in the shelling of Japanese supply and ammunition dumps at Koli Point on November 4.
(Mitsubishi G4M1 "Betties"
) attacked San Franciscos task group near Lunga Point
. While commanding the antiaircraft battery on the aft machine gun platform, he directed the fire of his 20-millimeter guns on an approaching Japanese torpedo plane that had been set ablaze by gunfire from the nearby transport McCawley (AP-10). Maintaining heavy fire until the Betty crashed into them, Harris and three of his gun crews died in the fiery crash.
Commander Herbert E. Schonland, who took command of the San Francisco after Captain Cassin Young
died of wounds suffered in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
, praised "the remarkable fire discipline and courage" of Harris and his men. "They met their deaths without flinching," Schonland wrote, "and in a manner which has been an inspiration to us all."
Lt. (j.g.) Harris was awarded the Navy Cross
posthumously.
was laid down on 13 January 1944 at Newark, New Jersey
, by the Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. She was launched on 16 April 1944, sponsored by Mrs. J. D. Harris, the mother of Lt. (j.g.) Harris, and commissioned on 29 November 1944 at the New York Navy Yard, Lt. Comdr. Sidney King in command.
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in the Naval Reserve
United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve, until 2005 known as the United States Naval Reserve, is the Reserve Component of the United States Navy...
who served during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Lt. (j.g.) Harris was a posthumous recipient of the Navy Cross
Navy Cross
The Navy Cross is the highest decoration that may be bestowed by the Department of the Navy and the second highest decoration given for valor. It is normally only awarded to members of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard, but can be awarded to all...
.
Early Life and Military Training
Born in Madison, GeorgiaMadison, Georgia
Madison is a city in Morgan County, Georgia, United States. The population was 3,636 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Morgan County....
, Harris attended North Georgia College and the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
before enlisting in the Naval Reserve
United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve, until 2005 known as the United States Naval Reserve, is the Reserve Component of the United States Navy...
on September 10, 1940. After a period of training, some of which he spent on the battleship New York (BB-34)
USS New York (BB-34)
USS New York was a United States Navy battleship, the lead ship of her class of two . She was the fifth ship to carry her name....
, he was discharged on June 15, 1941, to accept an appointment as a midshipman in the Naval Reserve the following day. After receiving training at the Naval Reserve Midshipmen's School at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, he was commissioned an ensign in the Naval Reserve on September 12, 1941.
Military Experience
Following instruction in communications, Harris was assigned to the 12th Naval District temporarily on November 15, 1941. There he awaited transfer to the heavy cruiser San Francisco (CA-38)USS San Francisco (CA-38)
USS San Francisco , a New Orleans-class heavy cruiser, was the second ship of the United States Navy named after the city of San Francisco, California. She saw extensive action during World War II....
. He reported for duty on board that ship at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
on the afternoon of January 6, 1942.
Two days after he reported, his ship sailed with Task Force (TF) 8 as part of the force covering the movement of marines to Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
. Detached from TF 8 to provide local cover for the newly arrived forces at Tutuila
Tutuila
Tutuila is the largest and the main island of American Samoa in the archipelago of Samoan Islands. It is the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain of the Central Pacific located roughly northeast of Brisbane, Australia and over northeast of Fiji. It contains a large, natural harbor,...
, San Francisco then rejoined her old division, Cruiser Division 6 (part of TF 11), soon after clearing Samoan waters on February 8. Ens. Harris saw his first action on February 20, 1942, when San Francisco screened the aircraft carrier Lexington (CV-2)
USS Lexington (CV-2)
USS Lexington , nicknamed the "Gray Lady" or "Lady Lex," was an early aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. She was the lead ship of the , though her sister ship was commissioned a month earlier...
as TF 11 battled Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese land-based bombers off Bougainville
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...
in the Northern Solomons
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
. San Francisco received credit for downing one of the attacking aircraft.
On March 10, 1942, the cruiser stood ready to protect Lexington, as that carrier and Yorktown (CV-5)
USS Yorktown (CV-5)
was an aircraft carrier commissioned in the United States Navy from 1937 until she was sunk at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. She was named after the Battle of Yorktown in 1781 and the lead ship of the Yorktown class which was designed after lessons learned from operations with the large...
launched a successful surprise attack on enemy shipping off the New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
settlements of Lae
Lae
Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast...
and Salamaua
Salamaua
Salamaua was a small town situated on the north-eastern coastline of Papua New Guinea part of Morobe province. The settlement was built on a minor isthmus between the coast with mountains on the inland side and a headland...
. In the spring of 1942, Ens. Harris's ship escorted convoys between the United States, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the Fiji Islands
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
.
After seeing a convoy safely to Fiji in July, San Francisco joined the expeditionary force bound for the Solomon Islands, in the initial assault phase of "Operation Watchtower"
Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II...
, the invasion of Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
. His ship covered the landings on August 7, and, following a logistics period at Nouméa
Nouméa
Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...
, New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
, covered a supply convoy to Guadalcanal. During the latter movement, he witnessed the loss of the carrier Wasp (CV-7)
USS Wasp (CV-7)
USS Wasp was a United States Navy aircraft carrier. The eighth Navy ship of that name, she was the sole ship of her class. Built to use up the remaining tonnage allowed to the U.S. for aircraft carriers under the treaties of the time, she was built on a reduced-size version of the Yorktown-class...
on September 15. He took part on the Battle of Cape Esperance
Battle of Cape Esperance
The Battle of Cape Esperance, also known as the Second Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the , took place on 11–12 October 1942, and was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and United States Navy...
on the night of October 11 and 12, and participated in the shelling of Japanese supply and ammunition dumps at Koli Point on November 4.
Death
Newly promoted Lt. (j.g.) Harris saw his last action on the afternoon of November 12, 1942, when 21 Japanese twin-engined torpedo planesTorpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a bomber aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes which could also carry out conventional bombings. Torpedo bombers existed almost exclusively prior to and during World War II when they were an important element in many famous battles, notably the...
(Mitsubishi G4M1 "Betties"
Mitsubishi G4M
The Mitsubishi G4M 一式陸上攻撃機, 一式陸攻 Isshiki rikujō kōgeki ki, Isshikirikkō was the main twin-engine, land-based bomber used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in World War II. The Allies gave the G4M the reporting name Betty...
) attacked San Franciscos task group near Lunga Point
Lunga Point
Lunga Point is a promontory on the northern coast of Guadalcanal, the site of a naval battle during World War II. It was also the name of a nearby airfield, later named Henderson Field....
. While commanding the antiaircraft battery on the aft machine gun platform, he directed the fire of his 20-millimeter guns on an approaching Japanese torpedo plane that had been set ablaze by gunfire from the nearby transport McCawley (AP-10). Maintaining heavy fire until the Betty crashed into them, Harris and three of his gun crews died in the fiery crash.
Commander Herbert E. Schonland, who took command of the San Francisco after Captain Cassin Young
Cassin Young
Cassin Young was a Captain in the United States Navy who received the Medal of Honor for his heroism during the attack on Pearl Harbor.-Biography:...
died of wounds suffered in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, The Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, as the , took place from 12–15 November 1942, and was the decisive engagement in a series of naval battles...
, praised "the remarkable fire discipline and courage" of Harris and his men. "They met their deaths without flinching," Schonland wrote, "and in a manner which has been an inspiration to us all."
Lt. (j.g.) Harris was awarded the Navy Cross
Navy Cross
The Navy Cross is the highest decoration that may be bestowed by the Department of the Navy and the second highest decoration given for valor. It is normally only awarded to members of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard, but can be awarded to all...
posthumously.
Namesake
The destroyer escort Albert T. Harris (DE-447)USS Albert T. Harris (DE-447)
USS Albert T. Harris was a acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II. The primary purpose of the destroyer escort was to escort and protect ships in convoy, in addition to other tasks as assigned, such as patrol or radar picket. Post-war she proudly returned home with two battle stars to her...
was laid down on 13 January 1944 at Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, by the Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. She was launched on 16 April 1944, sponsored by Mrs. J. D. Harris, the mother of Lt. (j.g.) Harris, and commissioned on 29 November 1944 at the New York Navy Yard, Lt. Comdr. Sidney King in command.