THE WALL OF FACES

On May 16, 1971, a New York Times article described heroin use by American troops in Vietnam had reached epidemic proportions. The piece reported that 10 to 15 percent of lower-ranking enlisted men were heroin users, and military officials working in drug‐suppression estimated that as much as a quarter of all enlisted personnel, more than 60,000 men, were hooked. They added that some field surveys reported units with more than 50 percent of the men on heroin. In Vietnam, the drug was plentiful, cheap, and 95 percent pure. Its effects could casually be achieved through smoking or snorting, as compared to the U.S., where the drug was impure, only about five percent heroin, and had to be main-lined or injected into the bloodstream to achieve a comparable high. The habit, which cost $100 a day to maintain in the U.S., cost less than $5 a day in Vietnam. SP4 William D. Harris was a radio operator serving with 13th Security Detachment, Headquarters & Headquarters Detachment (HHD), 13th Aviation Battalion, 164th Aviation Group, 1st Aviation Brigade. He had previously served with B Company, 7th Battalion, 1st Cavalry. An incident occurred in 1969 (date unknown) in which he was reportedly found unconscious on a battlefield. The newspaper report inferred his injuries were the result of combat; however, the U.S. Army’s Adjutant General's Center (TAGCEN) Casualty Information System indicated Harris was medically evacuated from Can Tho Army Airfield in Phong Dinh Province, RVN, following a drug overdose. He was returned to the United States and hospitalized at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Murfreesboro, TN, where he was in a coma for many months. When he emerged from unconsciousness, Harris had no memory of anything or anybody and was unable to recognize his wife or other members of his family. He remained in this state for four years until his death on September 14, 1973, at age 27. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and “G.I. Heroin Addiction Epidemic in Vietnam.” New York Times (New York, NY), May 16, 1971; also, “Veteran Is Dead After Four Years In VA Hospital.” The Messenger (Madison, KY), September 15, 1973]

A butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam
And for a brief moment its glory
and beauty belong to our world
But then it flies again
And though we wish it could have stayed...
We feel lucky to have seen it.

Thank you Specialist Four William Dexter Harris for volunteering to serve in our Country's Armed Forces in dangerous times, in a far and dangerous place. He served as a Radio Operator and was assigned to the 13TH SECURITY DET, HHD, 13TH AVN BN, 164TH AVN GROUP, 1ST AVIATION BDE.
See http://www.virtualwall.org/dh/HarrisWD01a.htm

SP4 William Dexter Harris is buried in New Salem Church Cemetery in Nortonville, KY.

Specialist Four William Dexter Harris, Served with the 13th Security Detachment, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 13th Aviation Battalion, 164th Aviation Group, 1st Aviation Brigade, United States Army Vietnam.