“I was usually thrown out most of the time I was here. “It’s good to be back in the old school,” he said. Harris makes it back to New Bremen once or twice a year, he said, but Monday marked the first time he was in the school since he graduated. “When I was a kid, all the old soldiers from World War II were all my heroes and stuff,” said Harris, who fund-raises for the Wounded Warrior Project and helps wounded soldiers. He went on to serve three more tours in Vietnam. Harris, who served 25 years in the Army, spent two years in hospitals after being injured on Nov. And there’s millions of them who didn’t make it back.” So you kids up there, they were four and five years older than you, and they didn’t make it back. They were 18 and 19 years old, most of them. “Forty-eight of those guys never came back. “Friday was the eighth of November,” Harris told the New Bremen students, who ranged from kindergarten through eighth grade. “Our assembly here is one small way we can honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can live in freedom.”ĭuring the assembly, New Bremen students announced they raised $675 during bake sales at football and volleyball games that they donated to the Wounded Warrior Project in honor of New Bremen veterans. “Our gathering is just one small spark in a flame of pride that burns across the nation today and every day,” Kramer said. New Bremen honored members of every branch of the military during Monday’s program with songs by the school’s choirs and band, video presentations and recognition of all the veterans in attendance. That’s why some of us made it through it.” “We were in Okinawa a year and a half training in jungle warfare and everything else. “We were very well trained,” said Harris, who was 19 years old during the battle.
Almost 50 Americans died in the operation, including 25 of the 30 men in Harris’ platoon. Troops from the United States, Australia and New Zealand sought to drive Viet Cong soldiers out of positions on several key hills but were ambushed by more than 1,200 Viet Cong fighters. Harris was severely wounded during Operation Hump on Nov. They’re getting good care, they’re getting welcomed when they come home and taken care of.” We really support the veterans right now 100 percent. It’s just good to see all the kids learning something about what went on and is still going on. “I haven’t seen stuff like this in some of the other places I’ve been in a lot of years. “It’s really good to see the small towns honoring the veterans,” said Harris, who now lives in Deadwood, South Dakota. Harris, a 1963 New Bremen graduate, was singled out and presented a plaque in recognition of his service in the United States Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team during the Vietnam War.
This year’s Veterans Day program was the largest in the history of the school, Principal Diane Kramer said, with more than 200 veterans invited to attend. NEW BREMEN – New Bremen High School alumnus Niles Harris – who was the inspiration for the Big & Rich song “8th of November” – was featured during the New Bremen Elementary/Middle School’s Veterans Day program on Monday.
Niles Harris, a 1963 New Bremen High School graduate who now lives in Deadwood, South Dakota, speaks during a Veterans Day ceremony Monday morning at New Bremen Elementary/Middle School.
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