William Leo Harris (1892 - 1918)

Born 21 Feb 1892 in Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States

Died 13 Sep 1918 at age 26 in France

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Biography

William Leo was born in Malden, Massachusetts, in 1892, the son of James and Annie (Reardon) Harris. His mother died when he was about 5 years old, and his father remarried a few years later. William grew up in a Malden with his father, step-mother and siblings.^[1]

When he registered for the war draft in 1917, he was employed with the Post Office, and had already served for a year with the National Guard.^[2]

William reported for duty with the Massachusetts National Guard on July 25, 1917, as was assigned to Company E of the 5th Infantry. He was later transferred to Company E of the 101st Infantry, 26th Division. He earned the rank of Corporal on August 20, 1917, and was sent overseas the following month.^[3]

Corp. Harris was killed in action on September 13, 1918, near St. Remy, France. His courageous actions on the day of his death earned him the Distinguished Cross Award, the citation of which read: "The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to William L. Harris, Corporal, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near St. Remy, France, September 13, 1918. While acting as a runner, between company and battalion headquarters, under terrific shell fire, Corporal Harris carried messages without regard to personal danger, until struck and killed by a shell."

He is buried at the Saint Mihiel American Cemetery in France.^[4] He is also commemorated in his hometown of Malden in 1920^[5] with the Harris Memorial Delta, located at the intersection of Pleasant St. and Highland Ave.^[6]

Harrison Delta Memorial

Sources

1. ↑ "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M9TH-SG7 : accessed 18 June 2018), William Harris in household of James J Harris, Precinct 1 Malden city Ward 2, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States
2. ↑ "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KZNS-P9V : 13 March 2018), William Leo Harris, 1917-1918
3. ↑ "Report of the Commission on Massachusetts' Part in the World War", by Eben Putnam, 1928, Vol. 2, p. 304
4. ↑ FindAGrave.com, Corp. William L. Harris, Saint Mihiel American Cemetery and Memorial, France, accessed 17 Jun 2018
5. ↑ Boston Daily Globe, June 18, 1920, “Unveil Malden War Hero’s Tablet Sunday”, text: “MALDEN, June 17 - The unveiling of the bronze tablet in memory of Corp. William L. Harris, Co L, 101st Infantry, who was killed in the World War will take place at 4 o'clock Sunday afternoon in Harris Park, Malden. The unveiling scheduled for today was postponed on account of the rain. The tablet has been erected by Santa Maria Council, Knights of Columbus.”, excerpted from Malden Remembers
6. ↑ The Historical Marker Database, Harris Delta, Malden, MA, accessed 18 June 2018