Aaron Leon Harris

Aaron L Harris, Chief Master Sergeant, US Air Force(Ret), left for his final assignment on the 14th of February, 2025. He will join Patsy, his departed and beloved companion of sixty-two years for their last PCS (Permanent Change of Station}.

Aaron was born at home to William Roy and May Bell (Bain) Harris on 19 October 1932, on Leedy Road in the red clay hills and the big pine trees of Rural Northeast Mississippi’s Alcorn County. The third of four children. He attended – and graduated from – Glendale High School where he was an acclaimed athlete – a tall, lanky Center for all four Varsity years on Glendale’s winning basketball programs.

After HS graduation in 1950, he quickly volunteered for duty in The United States Air Force and stayed with the program for almost thirty years, retiring in July of 1979. During his career that included Korea, VietNam and all of The Cold War, Chief Harris’ primary duty was Radar Air Surveillance, both ground and Electronic Counter Counter Measures(ECCM) airborne as a Crew Member. His service included deployments and assignments to such varied overseas places as Japan, Korea, Spain (twice), Germany, Viet Nam, Turkey, England and last… Special Operations In South East Asia(SEA), Thailand with USMACTHAI during the Laos/Cambodia CIA ‘Secret War’. He served a total of 14 years and 7 months in overseas locations during his career, but between remote assignments, The Air Force favored ‘next assignments’ to an area where families could join. Patsy and The Kids accompanied him first to Spain and then four years later to Germany on two of those assignments.

He met and married his first wife, Elda Jennie Schnose, during his first AF assignment in Rapid City, South Dakota… together they had two children, Michael and Patricia. Michael was born on Rapid City Air Force Base in September 1952… now renamed Ellsworth AFB. Patricia was born in Rapid City’s Bennett Memorial Hospital during one of Aaron’s frequent TDY/Assignments, this one to Japan. Sadly, Jennie was struck with a rare muscular disorder, myasthenia gravis, and died at the young age of 23 in 1954. She is in Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis, South Dakota.

Chief Harris met Patsy Marie Dobbs, in Denver, Colorado while on AF Recruiting Duty and after a year in recruiting, he was reassigned to Maryville, Tennessee’s McGhee-Tyson Airport with the Fighter Interceptor program and after settling, he called for Patsy waiting in Denver; she traveled by train to Knoxville, and they traveled to and were married next day in Ringgold, Georgia on May 31st, 1957. Aaron was then assigned to Keesler AFB for Electronic/Radar upgrade and refresher course, and on March 19th of 1958, son Devlin was born in Biloxi General Hospital. Shortly thereafter orders were received for assignment to Myrtle Beach AFB, and then on to Southeastern Spain to a new Radar Interceptor Site on Aitana Mountain 55 Kilometers north of the beach resort of Benidorm, 50 Kilometers north of Alicante. Patsy delivered their youngest daughter Vicki Lee in The Sanitorio San Francisco(Hospital) in Alicante, Spain on October 17th, 1960. In 1970 He was assigned to Randolph AFB and that became home except for one last overseas assignment in 1972 to Northern Thailand and the Secret War in Laos just across the Mekong River and ninety miles - as the crow flies - from Hanoi. He was there until the war ended and was re-assigned to Lackland AFB, where it all started 28 years before. Chief Harris retired from active duty in 1978.

He was preceded in death by his parents, William Roy and Lulu May Bell Bain Harris; three sisters, Firstborn Twins Leah Jane Harris and Rachael Ann Harris, and Ruth Wayne Harris McMullin of Scottsdale. He is survived by two sons and two daughters: Michael Vernon Harris of Newcastle, Wyoming and of Discovery Channel's "Dino Hunter" TV fame, Devlin Dobbs Harris, of Schertz, Texas; Patricia Ann Phipps of Hot Springs, South Dakota and Vicki Lee Harris of New Braunfels, Texas. 5 Grandsons Tony Phipps, Jess Michael Harris, Jacob Harris, Thomas Phipps and Lee Garrett Harris of Austin, Texas. 3 Grand daughters Amy Katherine Halverson, Marissa Amanda Harris and Miranda Marie Harris. 7 Great Grand Children: Cody, Kaitlyn and Kelton Harris, Austin and Arnold III Phipps, Ellie Halverson, and Vash Dorian Harris... AND two Great Great Grands: Able and Charlee Ann Phipps.