REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- He was known as the voice of Redstone Arsenal and has a place in the U.S. Army Public Affairs Hall of Fame, but today his name also represents a standard of excellence for public affairs practitioners throughout the materiel enterprise.
Friends, family, community leaders and public affairs professionals filled the Villar room at U.S. Army Materiel Command headquarters here Feb. 22 to remember the legacy of the late David G. Harris.
In December 2015, the AMC staff established the "U.S. Army Materiel Command David G. Harris Public Affairs Competition." The competition is named for Harris, former public affairs chief of the U.S. Army Missile Command -- now U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command.
During the ceremony, Nancy Harris, wife of David Harris, received the very first award from the competition named in her late husband's honor from Gen. Dennis L. Via, AMC Commander.
Via presided over the ceremony and spoke to the impact Harris made on the Army and the public affairs professionals that follow in his steps.
"During a crisis or any campaign information is as critical as anything else," said Via. "Our allies and our advisories must know what we stand for and that we're more than capable of defending our national interest against any threat. We look to our public affairs professionals to craft and deliver those messages in a timely and accurate manner."
And that is was what Harris did best. He was known as a wise, open and honest communicator to the community, media and leaders during his tenure in the materiel enterprise from 1962-1995.
Perhaps his greatest contribution was his effort to ensure the successful fielding of the Pershing II missile. Harris, in the face of incredible scrutiny, kept the media, Congress and the public apprised of the missiles' status, essentially giving Pershing II the time and chance to succeed.
Harris, also served as a spokesman in the early 1980s for the Hellfire, TOW, MLRS, ATACMS and Patriot programs. During this time, he was credited with responding to an unprecedented number of media requests.
"Harris could explain the seemingly unexplainable, literally translating rocket science into plain English," said Via.
This resulted in the community understanding the value of the work done on Redstone Arsenal and those who supported the various missions completed on post.
"David left us far too soon in 2002, but we remember him today and the competition that now bears his name will forever stand as a tribute to his legacy and provide an example of excellence to the many public affairs officers that follow in his footsteps," said Via.
Mark Harris, son of David Harris and vice president of IBM Communications, spoke on behalf of the family. He drew from more than 30 years of experience in the communications field, stating that of all the public relations professionals he has worked with none have matched his father.
"I've never seen a professional public affairs officer as good as David G. Harris. He would have been proud as he always was to represent this command and to have this award bear his name," said Mark Harris. "He was not a guy that thought of himself as creating or leaving a legacy so thank you for doing something for him that he would not have imagined for himself."
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