The community gathered at Swampscott Cemetery Sunday morning for the annual memorial service celebrating the life of Jennifer Harris.
Feb. 7 will mark the 17th anniversary of her death. The Swampscott native served as a Marine pilot for more than five years. On Feb. 7, 2007, Harris’s CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter was shot down by enemy combatants approximately 20 miles outside of Baghdad, Iraq. She and her six other crew members on board were attempting to deliver blood to wounded Marines. All seven people on board did not survive. Harris was 28 at the time of her death.
Raymond Harris believes his daughter would have succeeded in any career path, but through the influence of friends and her desire to serve her country, she began a career with the Marines that would lead her to not only the rank of captain but also the first female pilot in the history of the “Purple Foxes” helicopter Squadron.
“She could have been anything, a doctor, a lawyer,” Raymond Harris said. “When she was in school, she knew a lot of kids whose dads were in the Marines… she ended up doing that.”
Raymond Harris expressed his sympathies for the families of the three military members who were killed in Jordan last week and that these events make his daughter’s heroic life more relevant than ever. While the memorial is a way to honor Jennifer Harris’s life with the community, Raymond Harris has his own personal ways that help him remain connected to her.
“My daughter’s car is still here, and every time I get in the car, I feel like she’s with me,” Raymond Harris said. “I know she’s with me… I just feel her.”
Jennifer Harris has since been awarded the Purple Heart, 17 Air Medals, two Navy Commendation Medals, a Navy Achievement Medal, a Combat Action Ribbon, a Presidential Unit Citation, a Marine Corps Meritorious Unit Commendation, a National Defense Service Medal, and an Iraq Campaign Medal.
