James Lindell Harris
Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Medal of Honor Recipient
World War II

Second Lieutenant James Lindell Harris (27 June 1916 - 7 October 1944) was a U.S. Army officer who was posthumously awarded the U.S. military's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, for his heroic actions during World War II.

James L. Harris was born on 27 June 1916 in Hillsboro, TX; he also joined the Army from Hillsboro. On 7 October 1944, was serving as a Second Lieutenant in the 756th Tank Battalion. On that day at Vagney, France, he commanded an M4 Sherman tank in a hunt for an enemy raiding party which had infiltrated Allied lines. After moving ahead of his tank on foot to search for the enemy, he was seriously wounded by hostile fire. He managed to crawl back to his tank and continued to lead his crew, but was again severely wounded in the ensuing firefight. He refused medical attention until another wounded man had been evacuated, and subsequently died of his injuries. For these actions, Harris was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Medal of Honor

Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, 756th Tank Battalion.

Place and date: At Vagney, France, 7 October 1944.

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty on 7 October 1944, in Vagney, France. At 9 p.m. an enemy raiding party, comprising a tank and 2 platoons of infantry, infiltrated through the lines under cover of mist and darkness and attacked an infantry battalion command post with hand grenades, retiring a short distance to an ambush position on hearing the approach of the M-4 tank commanded by 2d Lt. Harris. Realizing the need for bold aggressive action, 2d Lt. Harris ordered his tank to halt while he proceeded on foot, fully 10 yards ahead of his 6-man patrol and armed only with a service pistol, to probe the darkness for the enemy. Although struck down and mortally wounded by machinegun bullets which penetrated his solar plexus, he crawled back to his tank, leaving a trail of blood behind him, and, too weak to climb inside it, issued fire orders while lying on the road between the 2 contending armored vehicles. Although the tank which he commanded was destroyed in the course of the fire fight, he stood the enemy off until friendly tanks, preparing to come to his aid, caused the enemy to withdraw and thereby lose an opportunity to kill or capture the entire battalion command personnel. Suffering a second wound, which severed his leg at the hip, in the course of this tank duel, 2d Lt. Harris refused aid until after a wounded member of his crew had been carried to safety. He died before he could be given medical attention.

Death and Burial

Second Lieutenant James L. Harris was killed in action on 7 October 1944. He is buried at Ridge Park Cemetery in his hometown of Hillsboro, TX.