Joe Harris dead: Oldest WWII paratrooper paved way for Black soldiers

Sgt. Joe Harris lived a beautiful life.

He sailed to earth on numerous missions as a member of the U.S. Army’s first all-Black paratrooper battalion during World War II, the 555th, aptly nicknamed the “Triple Nickles.”

At his funeral service on Saturday, friends, families and uniformed members of the military danced and sang to honor Harris, believed to be oldest paratrooper veteran when he died March 15.

He was 108.

“He was a kind, caring, compassionate man,” his daughter La Tanya Pittman told The Times. “He didn’t let the fact that he was fighting for freedom during segregated times stop him from living his life.”

Harris, who was born in Westdale, La., on June 19, 1916, died in a Los Angeles hospital surrounded by family. He lay in repose Saturday at Lewis Metropolitan CME Church.

Many cried, but they also laughed, as the service felt like a homecoming — one last leap for Harris into the unknown.

His grandson, Ashton Pittman, thanked his grandfather for all that he sacrificed.

“He was our rock, the foundation among which generations have been built,” he said.

Ashton Pittman, the grandson of Joe Harris, holds a jacket and boots given to him by organizers of a group of former and active paratroopers during Harris’ memorial service Saturday.

Harris received full military honors and was interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery.

His funeral procession included a World War II Willys Jeep escort and a military aircraft flew over the Harris home in Compton, where he lived for more than 60 years.

Compton Mayor Emma Sharif announced the city was exploring plans to rename a street after Harris.

Members of the U.S. National Forest Service and veterans from different branches of the military dressed in World War II-era uniforms.

They included retired U.S. Army Sgt. Donald Garrison, who first met Harris several years ago and has participated in commemorative events and parachute jumps honoring the Triple Nickles.

“Holy smokes, man, he paved the way for people like myself,” Garrison said, as his voice broke. “I get a little emotional because I feel it in my heart. He sacrificed so much, because he wasn’t supposed to be anything other than a steward, a cook or valet. He was a paratrooper — a hero.”

La Tanya Pittman said her father was skilled as a paratrooper, but wanted to become a pilot while he was in the military.

“They wouldn’t let him even try,” she said. “But he still went on to serve his country.”

As a member of the “Triple Nickles” Harris was part of a combat-ready unit, but the paratroopers were not sent overseas. Instead, they trained as some of America’s first “smokejumpers.”

They were tasked with parachuting into Pacific Northwest forests to fight wildfires ignited by Japanese balloon bombs launched into North America from across the Pacific Ocean.

Operation Firefly, a highly secretive mission, saw the smokejumpers put out wildfires and disarm any downed explosives.

Cpl. Elijah H. Wesby of Philadelphia and Sgt. Roger S. Walden of Detroit during jump training with the U.S. Army All African American 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion during a training exercise at Ft. Benning, Ga., in 1944.

They were stationed in Pendleton, Ore., and Chico, Calif., where they responded to 36 fires and made 1,200 jumps, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

A key reason the operation was kept secret was to limit news from reaching Japan about the the balloon bombs that arrived in North America, said chief historian Matt Seelinger with the Army Historical Foundation.

Although six people were killed near Bly, Ore., when they discovered a downed balloon in May 1945, the overall damage caused by the weapons was limited.

“The balloons did not work as the Japanese intended,” Seelinger said.

Harris made 72 successful jumps while he was with the Army, according to the organization Beyond the Call, which documents veterans’ stories.

The smokejumpers were equipped with wildland firefighting gear, including a football-style leather helmet with a grill in front and other tools.

After his honorable discharge, Harris purchased a home in Compton and had three children with his high school sweetheart, Louise Singleton Harris. He went on to work for the U.S. Border Patrol for nearly 40 years.

Former Compton Mayor Omar Bradley, who grew up next door to the Harris family, danced in Harris’ living room next to a large radio console when he was 3 or 4.

“His favorite thing was to invite me over and have me dance in front of his buddies,” said Bradley, who later learned the other men were veteran paratroopers with the 555th. “But if he really wanted me to turn it on, he’d throw $1 down, and I would have the whole house — his wife, his kids, everybody — laughing, because I’d start doing the splits.”

Harris was a father figure and a constant fixture in the Compton community.

“He was stalwart, committed and unwavering,” Bradley said. “A true American.”

U.S. Marine Corps veteran and former wildland firefighter Neil Gallagher felt honored to visit Harris at his home in January.

He and two other veterans presented Harris with a Pulaski, a wildfire tool used for building firebreaks, and a paratrooper patch.

Active duty and retired U.S. Army paratroopers pay respects to World War II veteran Joe Harris during his burial at Inglewood Park Cemetery on Saturday.

“They fought fascism and then fought racism,” said Gallagher, who is the founder of the oral history nonprofit Preserving Their Stories.

“Our country has a duty to ensure heroes like Mr. Harris are never forgotten, and that starts with providing units such as the 555th the recognition they deserve,” he said.

Harris was preceded in death by his wife in 1981 and one grandson.

Harris is survived by two daughters, one son, four grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and 20 great-great-grandchildren.