By Mike Stucka , Staff writer
Salem News

—
SWAMPSCOTT - On the anniversary of the Marine Corps and the eve of Veterans Day, local Marines will do their part to ensure Jennifer Harris will never be forgotten.

The Swampscott-based North Shore Detachment of the Marine Corps League will become the Capt. Jennifer J. Harris Detachment in a ceremony Saturday night, an event that organizer Jim Schultz thinks would have overwhelmed the humble Harris. Schultz said family members, Harris' fiancÉ and Marines who served with her will be present for the ceremony.

Detachment Commandant Jay Stinson said it is a fitting way to honor Harris, who would have celebrated her 29th birthday on Tuesday.

Harris, a pilot with Medium Helicopter Squadron 364, had finished her third tour in Iraq but volunteered for one last mission with her crew, picking up wounded Marines. She'd gotten them safely to a casualty station, but took off again to fetch a supply of blood. That's when she was shot down, Stinson said. She died on Feb. 7.

"It's a very heroic thing that she did, but that's the type of extraordinary person she was," Stinson said.

Schultz said the name change will give Harris, an honors student who graduated fifth in the Class of 1996 at Swampscott High School, well-deserved recognition.

"It'll be there forever, and it'll be something that Marines in the future who may not have known her will research her history," said Schultz, Swampscott's veterans agent. "It's a way of keeping the memory alive."

The ceremony will include an unveiling of the detachment's new flag, which features the Marine Corps emblem and Harris' name. An article on Harris and the ceremony will be published in the Marine Corps League's national magazine, Semper Fi, Stinson said.

Schultz said about 160 people had bought the $50 tickets to the Marine Corps' 7:30 p.m. birthday ball, which is sold out. Space is still available Saturday for a 6 p.m. cocktail hour and the 7 p.m. ceremony honoring Harris, which will be at the Franco-American Hall on Western Avenue in Lynn.

Family friend Laura Ventimiglia said the unassuming Harris would probably have been embarrassed by the attention.

"A lot of what Jen did, people never knew, because she was so selfless in what she did," Ventimiglia said.

Harris will likely be on many people's minds during Swampscott's Veterans Day ceremonies, at 11 a.m. Sunday on Monument Avenue. Participants and attendees will be invited to an open house after the ceremonies at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1240, 8 Pine St.

After the weekend's ceremonies, the newly named Capt. Jennifer J. Harris Detachment of the Marine Corps League will begin planning a spring motorcycle ride. Proceeds may benefit a scholarship in Harris' name and the Wounded Warriors Foundation.

The Marine Corps League is a group of active, reserve and retired servicemen and women who assist local veterans and render honors at funerals, among other duties.

Copyright © 1999-2006 cnhi, inc.
http://www.salemnews.com/punews/local_story_312094044