Helen Harris Cooke and her son, William Edwin Harris, place their hands on the casket of Pfc. Cecil Harris on Friday during a funeral service at Red Bank Baptist Church.IF YOU GOPfc Cecil E. Harris’ remains will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 22 at 1 p.m. Attendees take Interstate 75 North to Interstate 40 East, then Interstate 81 North to Interstate 66 East to exit 72 onto U.S. Highway 29 North and turn left onto Spout Run Parkway. Take the ramp onto George Washington Memorial Parkway and then take the exit toward Arlington Cemetery.
From a leaf-strewn grave on a French hillside to a flag-draped casket in a Tennessee church, U.S. Army Pfc. Cecil E. Harris’ seven-decade journey made one final stop in Chattanooga on Friday en route to his final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery.
Harris gave his life for his country on Jan. 2, 1945, near Dambach, France, at the age of 19.
Among those in attendance for a service Friday inside Red Bank Baptist Church were his former wife, Helen Harris Cooke, of Chattanooga; son, William Edwin Harris, of Mountain City; and sister, Janice Carlton, of Shelbyville.
The son and widow whose relationship fell apart after the soldier’s sudden death were momentarily reunited in his return to Tennessee. They stood together to mourn the loss of the young husband and father, each slowly reaching out to lay a hand on the casket.