Billie D. Harris, 61 Years Later - Part One
Les Ventes article translated by Susan Coker
On July 17, 1944, around 7 p.m. the Mary Pat III, a P51 Mustang crashed in the forest after having drawn German air fire. The pilot, a young American man, 22 years old, of the U.S. 9th Air Force, did not survive. His name was Billie D. Harris.
Before telling the moving story of this pilot, we must first recall its setting in history.
June 6, 1944: It's Operation Overlord, the landing of the allied forces at Normandy. British, Canadian, American and French forces land on the beaches stretching between Ouistreham to the east, and Saint-Martin-de-Varreville, in Cotentin, to the west. Most of these beaches are quickly penetrated and secured, with the exception of Omaha Beach (Colleville-sur-mer) where the Americans meet with fierce German resistance .
Thanks to a successful British deception plan, a large number of German armored divisions have been held in reserve at Pas-de-Calais, where the Germans believe the landing will take place. In addition to this, the Allies have the advantage of overwhelming air superiority, and the bombardment of road and rail networks in the north of France inflicts major delays in the transport of German reinforcements to the areas where the Allied forces had gained a foothold. The French Resistance is also doing its part on the inside to contribute to the fight.
On the Ground and in the Air
However furious ground battles may be, air battles are just as fierce. The 9th Air Force, commanded by Lieutenant General Lewis Brereton, based in Kent, England, in April of 1944, then in Cricqueville-en-Bessin, France, in June of 1944, was specifically prepared and trained for Operation Overlord. This squadron's mission was to bombard the area out ahead of the Allied ground forces, thus paving the way for them to advance. Young Billie D. Harris was part of this group. He was a First Lieutenant under the orders of Colonel Kenneth Martin of the 354th Fighter Group/355th Fighter Squadron and flew a P-51 GQ. An excellent pilot, he had received a medal for shooting down an enemy plane on May 11, 1944, between Treves and Luxembourg.
Sadly, it was over our town that he was hit by enemy fighters and crashed 300 meters south of la Pierre Courcoulee [Courcoulee Rock] on Monday, July 17, 1944, around 7 p.m.
Another pilot from the same unit, Lieutenant James D. Mason, will find death near Evreux as well as three German pilots, two of these at Trigale. Heavily scarred by air battles, our town was also the target of an air raid on May 22, 1944, which caused the death of 12 citizens to whom we pay tribute every year on May 8th and November 11th at the war memorial .
The Canadian Billie D. Harris is American
August 2004: 60 years after this terrible tragedy, the Municipality and the Local Association of Veterans are paying tribute to those who fought in the resistance and to the pilot. A ceremony takes place at the stone memorial pillars (steles*) of the resistance fighters and at the tomb of the pilot in the presence of a large number of public figures, among them the military attaché from the Canadian Embassy in France and his wife. But the article covering the ceremony in the local press catches the attention of Mr. Huard, president of the Norman Association for the Remembrance of Aerial 39/45.
This gentleman writes us a letter in which he assures us that our soldier is not Canadian but American, and that he would be buried in the American cemetery of Saint-Laurent/Colleville-sur-mer. The inquiries made to the U.S. cemetery regarding this matter did indeed confirm the identity of the soldier. His grave is located in Block D, the 3rd grave in aisle 27 (see photo). The Records Administration could tell us no more, because the records are stored in Alexandria, Virginia, in the United States.
*Stele: a usually carved or inscribed stone slab or pillar used for commemorative purposes.
Continue to Part Two
Credits
Les Ventes, France -
Madame Valérie Quesnel.
Translation by Susan Coker.