MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2020 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Younger, McMahan, Blackwell, Branning, DeBar, McDaniel, Michel, Seymour
A RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE LIFE AND DISTINGUISHED LEGACY OF SELFLESS PATRIOTISM AND HEROISM OF RETIRED UNITED STATES AIR FORCE COLONEL CARLYLE SMITH "SMITTY" HARRIS, RENDERED TO THE UNITED STATES AS AN AMERICAN PRISONER OF WAR DURING THE VIETNAM WAR.
WHEREAS, on April 4, 1965, while serving as a pilot Captain in the United States Air Force, retired Colonel Carlyle Smith "Smitty" Harris took on enemy fire and was shot down over North Vietnam, an encounter that would lead to a harrowing sequence of events that would forever alter his life as a prisoner of war in the infamous Hoa Lo Prison, which the world came to know as the "Hanoi Hilton"; and
WHEREAS, Colonel Harris became the sixth American POW captured in the air war over North Vietnam, and for the next eight years, along with hundreds of other American POWs, including the late Senator John McCain and Colonel George Everette "Bud" Day, who was posthumously promoted to the rank of Brigadier General on June 8, 2018, endured villainous torture, solitary confinement and heinous abuse at the hands of their captors, that stripped them of their dignity, challenged their will while being ravaged by punishments that rendered many physically incapacitated; and
WHEREAS, even in enduring the treatment by his jailers, the quiet captain remembered his days as a curious young man, and channeled an acquired nonverbal communication technique he learned, known as the Tap Code, which entailed tapping on a common water pipe or wall to relay a message, that has since fallen out of use after World War II's end; and
WHEREAS, it was Colonel Harris' risky resourcefulness that would prove critical to the Vietnam War POW experience, as his wherewithal to survive captivity in such extenuating circumstances was not reserved to himself, but also the fate of every other prisoner detained in the medieval bastille; and
WHEREAS, confined in isolated cells separated by 16-inch masonry walls, "Smitty" devised a mechanism to spread and teach the code that allowed for effective communication among prisoners without striking the attention of their unsuspecting captors, and which served as an essential lifeline during their detention to boost morale, solidify unity and communicate the chain of command on resistance policies from their imprisoned leaders; and
WHEREAS, known as the "code bearer" by his comrades, Smitty's tool enabled POWs to remain connected, despite the isolation, and to remain in communication, a system essential to the need of a POW, and which was hailed by Navy POW, Admiral Stockdale, as the "blood and sinew" that kept the captives alive; and
WHEREAS, while Colonel Harris suffered brutality at the hands of the enemy as the war raged on, the southern belle whose hand and heart he received in marriage, Louise, as one of the first POW wives, was forging a battle of her own back home and garnering the reputation as a true warrior as well, by serving as an ambassador of the initiative that led to development of policies to address the provision of information and assistance to the families of POWs, a system that was virtually nonexistent in the Air Force at the onset of the Vietnam War; and
WHEREAS, upon the war's end and his liberation from the Hanoi Hilton, Smitty's eventual reunification with his beloved Louise and three children was two months shy of eight years of prolonged uncertainty and absence, which resulted in a perpetual reunion between the Harrises; and
WHEREAS, settling back into life free of foreign conflict, the resilience of Colonel Harris and Mrs. Louise Harris continues to serve as a premier model of inspiration for overcoming the suffering and sacrifices of war through character, courage and commitment; and
WHEREAS, before his official and honorable separation from the Air Force, Mr. Harris rose to the rank of a highly decorated Colonel, with two Silver Stars, three Legion of Merit Medals, the Distinguished Flying Cross, two Purple Heart Medals and the Eagle Awards, presented through the Gathering of Eagles Foundation; and
WHEREAS, enjoying the latter days of his life in Tupelo, Mississippi, Colonel Harris, whose POW tin cup now rests in the catalog of items on display at the Smithsonian, enjoys the success of the biographical literary piece, Tap Code: The Epic Survival of a Vietnam POW and the Secret Code that Changed Everything, published by Zondervan/Harper Collins and co-authored by Award-Winning Author, Publisher and Teacher, Sara W. Berry; and
WHEREAS, as a resident and esteemed citizen and community pillar of Tupelo, Colonel Harris has experienced the transformational changes of American society and various moments of iconic history, and continues to rely wholeheartedly on his faith as the driving force to sustain and motivate him through the trials and triumphs of life; and
WHEREAS, Colonel Harris' legacy is a strong and free America, and for this and for a lifetime of selfless service, a grateful state thanks him:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend the life and distinguished legacy of selfless patriotism and heroism of retired United States Air Force Colonel Carlyle Smith "Smitty" Harris rendered to the United States as an American Prisoner of War during the Vietnam War.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Colonel Carlyle Smith "Smitty" Harris and his family and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps