lest we forget

HARRISON, WILLIAM MILAM

Rank / Branch:

CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER 2, U. S. ARMY

Date Of Birth:

1943-11-15

Country Of Loss:

SOUTH VIETNAM

Status:

HOSTILE, ROCKET

Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground:

UH-1H HELICOPTER

Other:

MARRIED

Unit:

FIRST AVIATION BRIGADE

Date Of Loss:

1969-02-06

Loss Coordinates:

NINH THUAN

Catagory:

BODY RETURNED

Awards & Decorations:

SEE BIO

VETERAN HAGI0GRAPHY

HARRISON, WILLIAM MILAM , CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER TWO, U.S. ARMY, PECOS, REEVES COUNTY, TEXAS

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

ARMY AVIATION PILOT WINGS, DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS WITH OAK LEAF CLUSTER, PURPLE HEART, AIR MEDAL WITH 18 OAK LEAF CLUSTERS, ARMY COMMENATIONS MEDAL WITH V DEVICE, GOOD CONDUC MEDAL, NATIONAL DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL, VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL, VIETNAM CROSS OF GALLANTRY WITH PALM, VIETNAM CAMPAIGN MEDAL

BIOGRAPHY

William Milam Harrison was born in Alpine, Texas, the second child of Mary Knight Harrison and Byrl E. Harrison. He had an older sister, Brylene. He grew up in Pecos, Texas. He was a 1962 graduate of Pecos High School. He attended Sul Ross State University in Alpine for two years and married to Brenda Dozier of Pecos.
He entered the U.S. Army in 1965, completed basic training at Fort Hood, Texas and was trained as a radar technician in the Air Defense Artillery branch. He was stationed in Germany when he decided to volunteer to train as a helicopter pilot. He then entered the Warrant Officer Rotary Wing Flight Program at Fort Wolters, Texas. After the primary phase, he completed flight training at Fort Rucker, Alabama. He was commissioned a Warrant Officer One in January 1968, received his aviator wings and he began his tour in Vietnam on March 2, 1968.
He was assigned as a pilot with the 134th Assault Helicopter Company, 268th Aviation Battalion, 17th Aviation Group, First Aviation Brigade. On February 6, 1969, twenty-four days before the completion of his tour and shortly after being promoted to Chief Warrant Officer Two, he volunteered to be a part of a combat assault with Korean units near Phan Rang. He was the pilot of a UH-1H helicopter, tail number 66-16326. The mission involved ferrying Korean troops into a hot landing zone. At the landing zone, the VC were entrenched in spider holes and were waiting for the incoming aircraft. The lead ship was hit by ground fire and crashed into the LZ. The Huey, piloted by CW2 Harrison, landed in the LZ and was offloading the Korean troops when the left front side was hit by a B-40 rocket. CW2 Harrison was killed by shrapnel from the rocket. The remainder of the crew were able to get off the aircraft. The crew chief was also hit with numerous pieces of shrapnel and also took a hit in his leg, that later resulted in the loss of the limb. The last aircraft into the LZ went around the crashed or destroyed helicopters and it was hit by a hail of ground fire, a round hit the door gunner and he was killed instantly. The aircraft despite being heavily damaged was able to make it back to Phan Rang air base.
Chief Warrant Harrison was buried with full military honors in the Evergreen Cemetery in his hometown of Pecos, Texas. His was survived by his wife, his parents and his sister.
His father passed away in 1974 and his mother in 1985. His sister is a widow and lives in Odessa. His wife remarried and left the area.