Dallas soldier who specialized in disarming IEDs dies in Afghanistan
12:00 AM CST on Thursday, December 2, 2010
Pvt. Devon J. Harris, a 2004 graduate of Dallas' Skyline High School , quickly demonstrated his prowess at clearing improvised explosive devices from the path of American troops in Afghanistan.
He was deployed to the combat zone in October, shortly after a three-day visit home to North Texas.
"His unit was very proud of Devon. He had gone on several missions disarming those IEDs," said his father, Tennyson Harris of Rowlett. "He'd gotten so good, they put him in the lead Humvee. They had a lot of confidence in him."
Pvt. Harris, 24, was killed in Wardak province, Afghanistan, on Saturday when insurgents attacked his combat-engineering unit with a rocket-propelled grenade.
Services are pending the return of his body Friday from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
Pvt. Harris was born in Dallas, where he was an active member of Southern Hills Church of Christ. He played the violin and wanted to become a history teacher.
After graduating from Skyline, he attended Southwest Christian College in Terrell for two years. He joined the Army in August 2009.
He was a member of the Brigade Special Troops Battalion of the 10th Mountain Division of Fort Drum in New York, but his unit had been based at Fort Polk, La., for the past year.
Pvt. Harris' generosity was apparent on his visits home, his father said.
"He would buy his friends different items, and then he wouldn't have enough money to catch the bus to go back," Mr. Harris said. "He'd come to me and say, 'Daddy, I need some bus fare so I can get back to Polk. ... I had to help someone.' "
In addition to his father, Pvt. Harris is survived by his stepmother, Felicia Harris of Rowlett; his mother, Sorainya Harris of Mesquite ; his brothers, Christopher Johnson of Mesquite, David Parker of Lancaster and Michael Rufus of Dallas; and his sisters, Ashley Harris of Mesquite (his twin sister), Monica Harris Smith of Cedar Hill and Stephanie Rufus of Rowlett.
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