Capt. Jennifer J. Harris (USNA '00)
Capt. Jennifer J. Harris (USNA '00)
Capt. Harris was killed in action (KIA) on February 7th, 2007, when the helicopter she was piloting was shot down while in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
After graduating from Swampscott High School in 1996, Capt. Harris entered the United States Naval Academy where she was a political science major and was a member of the United States Naval Academy Intercollegiate Sailing Team, sailing 420s.
Upon graduation, she was commissioned in the United States Marine Corps and later earned her Wings of Gold in 2002. After flight school and initial flight training, she was assigned to the Purple Foxes of HMM-364 and immediately deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom. HMM-364 is a legendary squadron known since the Vietnam War for repeatedly answering the call of duty flying in and out of combat areas where no other helicopter squadron would go because of the danger.
Captain Harris was the first female pilot in the Purple Foxes Squadron. She served three tours in Iraq piloting her CH-46, evacuating countless Marines and Iraqis and saving many lives along the way.
For every Capt. Jennifer Harris bracelet sold, $10 will be donated to a charity of her family’s choosing.
From Solimine Funeral Homes:
“Captain Jennifer Jean Harris, United States Marine Corps Pilot, died Wednesday February 7, 2007, when the CH-46 Sea Knight Helicopter she was piloting went down in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. Captain Harris was 28 years old and this was her third tour of duty to Iraq. She was born and raised in Swampscott, the daughter of Raymond W. and Rosalie M (Macone) Harris. She was the niece of Anthony and Linda Macone of Nahant who assisted in her upbringing. A 1996 graduate of Swampscott High School and a 2000 graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, she attended the Basic School in Quantico, Virginia, and went on to Pensacola Florida where she attended flight school. After earning her Navy Wings of Gold she was assigned to HMM-364 Purple Foxes at Camp Pendleton, California. She attended The Weapons and Tactics Instructor’s Course (WTI) at the Marine Corps School in Yuma, Arizona. Captain Harris was one of the few selected for Youth Senate Mentoring Program in Washington D.C. and was to have started there March 1, 2007. On May 15, she was to start as an instructor for the ROTC program at George Washington University in Washington, DC. Captain Harris was a member of the Stephen’s Post 1240, VFW in Swampscott, and a member of the Swampscott High School Alumni. She was a Drum Major and Flutist with the Swampscott High Band; she worked in the Swampscott Recreation Commission sailing program and worked at the Swampscott Public Library. She volunteered at Salem Hospital. She was always interested in government in school and in the Commonwealth, and served an internship with Congressman Peter Torkilson. She is survived by her mother, Rosalie M. (Macone) Harris who is a retired Nahant school teacher and was born in Somerville, and raised in Somerville and Nahant, and her father, Raymond W. Harris, who retired in 1999 from the General Electric Company, was born in Montrose, Scotland and moved to Swampscott in 1957. They were married in 1973 and have spent their married life in Swampscott. Additionally Jennifer leaves: her maternal grandparents Pasquale and Gina (Ciaramaglia) Macone of Nahant, her paternal aunt Maureen Corton and her husband John of Florida, maternal aunt Marie C. Ahern and her husband Kevin F. of Woodbridge, VA. She also leaves a great uncle Mario Ciara of North Falmouth, several paternal cousins Ann Sollberger and Richard Corton, and also a cousin Scott Harris of Scotland, and her maternal cousins: Patrick Ahern, and Christina Ahern. She is also survived by her beloved fiancé and her military escort Major Christopher Aaby, USMC.”