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- The People Behind The Sacrifice
Army Spc. Dustin J. Harris
Died April 6, 2006 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom
21, of Patten, Maine; assigned to the 172nd Brigade Support Battalion, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Fort Wainwright, Alaska; killed April 6 when an improvised device detonated while he was conducting dismounted patrol operations in Bayji, Iraq.
Maine mourns young soldier
PATTEN, Maine — A 21-year-old soldier from Patten who enlisted in the Army following his high school graduation was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq, officials said Friday.
Spc. Dustin James Harris from Fort Wainwright, Alaska, was on foot patrol Thursday with elements of the 101st Airborne Division in Bayji, 150 miles north of Baghdad, when the improvised explosive device detonated nearby, the Army said.
Word of Harris’ death spread quickly through this northern Penobscot County town and was confirmed by Gov. John Baldacci and members of the Maine congressional delegation.
Harris was a 2002 graduate of Katahdin High School in Stacyville, where his younger brother is a senior.
“He was just a wonderful young man and we’re going to miss him terribly,” said Principal Rae Bates, who remembered Harris as a good student and outstanding soccer player who was active in his church.
Bates said she had encouraged Harris to go on to college but he decided to join the military instead.
“I asked ‘are you sure you really want to do this?’ It was so soon after 9/11,” she recalled.
Harris’ grieving family said it was not prepared to talk about their son’s death at this time.
Baldacci’s office said flags will be ordered flown at half-staff on the day of Harris’ funeral.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Spc. Harris’ family during this difficult time,” said Baldacci. “James served his state and his nation honorably and all of Maine mourns his loss.”
No other soldiers were injured in the incident.
Harris was assigned the 172nd Brigade Support Battalion, which is part of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team stationed in Mosul.
Harris was a motor transport operator who joined the Army in July 2004. He was assigned to Fort Wainwright in February 2005.
— Associated Press
Fort Wainwright soldier killed in Iraq
FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska — Army officials on Friday released the identity of the Fort Wainwright soldier killed in Iraq.
Spc. Dustin Harris died Thursday when a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle, Fort Wainwright officials said.
No other soldiers were injured in the accident near Bayji, Iraq, about halfway between Mosul and Baghdad on the Tigris River.
Harris, 21, of Patten, Maine, was assigned the 172nd Brigade Support Battalion, which is part of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team stationed in Mosul.
Harris was a motor transport operator who joined the Army in July 2004 and was assigned to Fort Wainwright in February 2005.
His relatives have been notified, officials said. There was no immediate word on a funeral or memorial services.
— Associated Press
Funeral service held for Maine soldier
STACYVILLE, Maine — As U.S. and Maine flags were lowered to half-staff across the state, hundreds of people attended a service Saturday for a 21-year-old soldier who was killed by a bomb in Iraq.
The memorial was held for Army Spc. Dustin James Harris, who was killed April 6 while on patrol 150 miles north of Baghdad.
Harris grew up in the northern Penobscot County town of Patten and graduated from Katahdin High School in Stacyville in 2002. He was a member of the 172nd Brigade Support Battalion of Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
Saturday’s public event took place at Katahdin Elementary School and was to be followed by a private family burial in Patten.
A threatened demonstration by a fringe church group failed to materialize.
Maine Public Safety Department spokesman Stephen McCausland said authorities monitoring the service reported no problems.
“There were absolutely no incidents,” McCausland said.
Two days earlier, Maine Army National Guard troops from the 152nd Maintenance Company arrived at the Augusta Armory on their way home after a yearlong tour of duty in Iraq.
— Associated Press