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00:03Welcome to the beautiful Florida Keys and Hawks Cay Resort. Join us as we hear Frank
00:08Harris's story and the sacrifices that he made for our great nation. These are the faces of heroes,
00:17many still bearing the invisible wounds of war, PTSD and trauma. I left Vietnam but Vietnam never
00:27left me. That's how I'm living. Why did I come back? Why are they gone and I'm not? You know,
00:36what have I done to deserve to be here? Our mission is listening and hearing,
00:45helping and healing for those who sacrificed and those who continue to sacrifice. The mission today
00:55and every day is Operation Healing Heroes. Brought to you by Great Clips.
01:08Morning rises over the Florida Keys painting Hawks Cay in soft light, a quiet grace over a place known for
01:17healing. So you ready to go do some fishing today? Sir, I want to go out here and catch this
01:21big one I
01:21missed last time. Joining us on the boat today is Frank Harris, a Vietnam helicopter pilot who once
01:29flew through fire to save the lives of others. Few volunteer for war and fewer still fly into battle
01:37day after day watching friends fall while carrying the weight of surviving. For decades, those stories
01:44stayed locked away. Welcome aboard. Yes, sir. Thanks for having me. But today, on these calm waters,
01:52Frank takes a courageous step of a different kind. A step toward healing, toward releasing the burdens
02:01he's carried alone for far too long. So tell me about growing up as a Georgia boy. Growing up as
02:08a Georgia
02:09boy. Well, when Robins, Georgia, at the time we moved there, I was in the sixth grade. I remember hearing
02:17loud noise outside and it was these jets were flying overhead. It was Memorial Day and the Thunderbirds
02:23were doing their air show at Robins Air Force Base, where Robins, Georgia is. And I just stood out in
02:30the
02:30backyard probably, I don't know, maybe a good hour watching these planes do their aerobatics and stuff
02:38and just fell in love. Here come the Air Force's official air demonstration team,
02:44the Thunderbirds. One way or the other, I was going to fly. That's cool. Oh, yeah. He's on. He's on.
02:51Got it right there. Yeah, I got it. Oh, wow. He went straight out that way. He's down there. He's
02:56already on.
02:57Start reeling. You got this, brother. You got it.
03:04How's he feel? All right. Yeah. Yeah, I grew up as kind of a wild child, me and my
03:11buddies that we grew up with in the neighborhood. And we do this every now and then. On a Friday,
03:16we'd skip school and go up there to underground Atlanta. And we get a six pack of Sprite and a
03:22little pint bottle of some bourbon or something. And we drink that all day long. It's not like we're
03:27getting drunk or anything. We were just kids, you know, 15, 16 years old, 17, you know, having a good
03:34time. And I was in the front seat of the pasture and I just happened to look over. And that
03:39was my
03:39father. And he was looking dead at us, you know. We had a little tussle about that. You know,
03:48he took my car away from me. He had three rules. You know, you don't drink and drive. You know,
03:54you don't drive your car out of town without permission. And no one else drives your car.
03:59Well, I broke all three rules. My father served in Korea. He was awarded the Silver Star when he was
04:05in Korea. Really? He didn't really act mad about it or anything. But he just said, well, you know,
04:11Frank, he said, I think it's about time. He says that you join the you need to go in the
04:17army.
04:17They'll make a man out of you. Two weeks later, I was on my way to Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
04:23Really? For basic training. Yeah. Right from day one,
04:26you know, you may want to go to Vietnam. I threw my hand up. I was always first to volunteer,
04:32you know. Really? Yeah, I went in in September. I turned 18 in November.
04:38And then my butt was in Vietnam in April. Wow.
04:42You know, that quick. Yeah. Still looking for his war face,
04:45Frank quickly learned what he had gotten himself into.
04:48In Da Nang, night after night, mission after mission, he flew straight into the fire,
04:55long before he ever had time to understand what war really was.
05:03Operation Healing Heroes is brought to you by Great Clips,
05:09Hawks K Resort, and by Suzuki Marine.
05:18Operation Healing Heroes is a nonprofit organization dedicated to documenting the
05:23lives of our US military veterans. In addition, we also provide financial support and treatment
05:29for post-traumatic stress. Your donation will help heal our heroes.
05:39There you go. You got this, brother. There he is. There he is. Oh, yeah.
05:49There he is. Ah. He off?
05:51Damn, he broke off again. He broke off, guys. We'll get him.
05:55A lost catch on the water is nothing compared to what Frank once flew through. When Nixon began pulling
06:01troops out of Vietnam, pilots weren't among them. Frank stayed in the skies, flying critical missions
06:09to support the ARVN in brutal combat. There's no more infantry, no more ground troops in Vietnam.
06:17All's left is the advisors and the aviation units. We continued on with the mission we were assigned to,
06:23search and destroy. It didn't really hit me as far as our loss until the incident I had.
06:36We had two Cobras and a Loach and the Huey gunship that I was on. The Cobras come in to
06:46roll in on this bunker to fire their rockets off on it. And he got off a couple salvos, but
06:51then he goes,
06:52as soon as I'm hit, he crashed right into the ground. And our job was, as flying the chase and
06:59cover,
07:00was to go in and pick up any survivors or bodies if that was so. And we went in and
07:12they dropped me off.
07:13I was on the edge of a rice paddy about 50 yards, 60 yards or so from the aircraft.
07:19And I grabbed the M-60 I had and threw a couple of rounds of belts over my shoulder. I
07:25got to the
07:26aircraft and the front seat pilot was dead. And it was, it wasn't something you'd be wanting to see.
07:39So I could tell when I got there, there was blood all over the canopy in the cockpit and he
07:44was slumped
07:45over and the rear pilot was banging on his window real bad and everything. So I immediately got to
07:53him, got his canopy open and he had a broke leg. His femurs were sticking out, you know, so I
07:59got him
07:59out of the aircraft and pulled him off about 50 yards and went back to get the, the other pilot.
08:06And when I opened his canopy, he just fell out on the ground. He had been shot through the head
08:11and he
08:13was dead. He had a, it looked like he'd taken a round up through here and it just blew the
08:19top of his
08:19head off. His helmet was all shattered and stuff. And you know, it was, it was just, I couldn't get
08:25his helmet off.
08:31I wanted to, I wanted to cover his face.
08:38Well, I didn't, it did kind of dawn on me at that moment, but once I was there, well,
08:44now what am I supposed to do? There's nobody here to get us.
08:47The aircraft that had brought me off took off and I didn't have a survival radio,
08:53but the pilot from the Cobra that had one, they couldn't back, it couldn't get back in there to get
08:59me and the pilot and the dead pilot. They had to leave us there overnight. And now it was dark
09:09and I
09:09was there by myself with them. And that was tough. I was like, are they coming back? Well, they, they
09:20said
09:20they'd get to us as quick as they could, but they couldn't land. They would, you know, use some probing
09:27fire every now and then. And I'd have to move, I'd move 50, a hundred yards in different directions,
09:32you know, and, uh, just, just so,
09:43it just, it was terrible.
09:48Operation Healing Heroes is brought to you by Great Clips,
09:54Craval Boats, and by PowerPole.
10:04American made is just, it's hard to put into words, nothing better. You know, you, you fight for it
10:11and say, I fought for that and I'm going to use it and I'm going to enjoy it. And it
10:15always follows
10:16through, you know. If you'd like to see more behind the scenes footage, follow us on social media and
10:22subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you'd like to learn more and go deeper into the subject of
10:28healing, tune into the all new Operation Healing Heroes podcast, Feel the Heal. Hear from veterans,
10:34first responders, doctors, nonprofit leaders, and gold star families, as they share powerful stories of
10:40hope, healing, and resiliency. Tune in and Feel the Heal.
10:49I kept thinking I was hearing the voices all the time. You're in total darkness. You don't have any
10:58light other than the ambient moonlight, whatever. You didn't, you know, it's like, well, what do I do next?
11:04I'm waiting. You know, the time is just, the killer there is the waiting, you know. And I think that's
11:12what
11:13bothered me the most. Listening to the pilot, he was, he tried to stay as quiet as he could,
11:20but, uh, just hoping and praying to God that we would make it.
11:31Sure, but sure enough, the next, next day, the crack of dawn, I look, I hear them. Here, here the
11:37Huey Cubs,
11:39you know, uh, here comes the Calvary. And that's what it was. And they, they picked us up.
11:48You know, and it's like every time I, I think about it, which is not very often. And this is
11:54only like a,
11:55probably the fourth or fifth time I've told the story about this incident. But, uh,
12:03uh, it's, it's difficult. It was horrible. But we went on, uh, once a week we'd have a company
12:17formation. Usually it was on a Sunday morning. Called out Sergeant Harris, front and center,
12:25uh, Major Fairweather. He looked at me and he said, we know we can't
12:31replace what you've lost, but we could give you this for what you've earned. And he, he pinned that
12:39on me.
12:42You know, you process, you go through all the paperwork, you know, uh, you go to the airport
12:49terminal at Da Nang and you see that big jet sitting out there and it says Flying Tiger Airlines on
12:55the
12:55side of it and you get on the plane and you still don't realize it. But when those wheels
13:03part the ground, you're on your way, then, you know, you're on your way. And then when we touched
13:09down in Travis, they all went crazy. Well, we're crazy again. We're home. We made it,
13:15you know, and it's like, finally, finally, and I'm not going back.
13:24When I came home, I remember I was, I went to the, my dad's office to surprise him. And, uh,
13:34he came in, flipped the light on. I was in uniform and he surprised the heck out of him to
13:41see me. And
13:42he looks at me and he goes, what, what's that? And I don't know what you're talking. He says,
13:47that silver star on your chest. It's my silver star. I told you I could be as much of a
13:54man as you
13:55wanted me to be as much of a man as you are, you know? And he just, he looked and
14:01he just had,
14:02one of the few times I'd ever seen him got a happy smile and he just said, good job. And
14:08that's all we
14:08ever said about it. It was nothing ever else. I never talked to him. I never told him what happened.
14:15It's like, he never told me what happened. So he never heard the story of what you'd done?
14:20No. No, he didn't, he didn't want to know. I don't really know the story of how he earned his.
14:26I was going to ask, did he ever share that with you? No, he never did. That was it. I,
14:31ever since then, I just swept it all under the rug, you know?
14:44Middle Georgia honor flight gives World War II, Korea, Vietnam, internally ill veterans,
14:51a chance to stand before the memorials built for them in Washington, D.C., completely free of charge.
14:59If you'd like to recognize a special veteran in your life and see them featured on our website,
15:04log on to OperationHealingHeroes.org and click on the recognize button.
15:10Operation Healing Heroes is brought to you by Battle Born Batteries, Hawks K Resort, and by Tarpon Time Guide Service.
15:30A few days after I got home, that, wow, I'm here, but I've left so many behind.
15:39You know, like I said, within a year, we'd lost six people, and they were all friends of mine.
15:44And it's like, why me? You know, I was in several situations where I should have died myself,
15:55and God was looking after me. But the survivor's guilt, it just, it just eats away at you. Like,
16:09why me? Why am I here? And there's nobody to answer that for you, you know? After all that,
16:18you know, and they, I made my peace with him out the wall.
16:25And he was happy I was there.
16:28Yeah.
16:28Frank carried the trauma of that fateful night for decades. At the memorial, he etched the pilot's name
16:35into paper, a simple tracing that felt like a hand reaching back. In that moment,
16:42Frank finally felt peace and a forgiveness he never thought he'd find.
16:48I sat down and talked with somebody. I finally kind of let go a little bit. And, but right after
16:55that,
16:56it's like, okay, uh, I feel a little bit better. I don't need any more help. Just kick it back
17:03under
17:03the rug again, you know? I just couldn't get it out of my head, especially at night when I try
17:08to go to
17:09sleep. Just over and over, I'm really involved in stuff, you know? And I can't get it to stop.
17:18You're so confused in your thoughts and your mind. You can't settle down. You know, you're racing thoughts.
17:28You go to bed at night, you can't go to sleep.
17:32I think that's why I'm here. It's because I know that Healing Heroes is here to help me. And if
17:41anybody can, I feel that they will, and they will follow through to their word. And so far, it's been
17:50a
17:50pleasure. I'm just grateful for you guys.
17:56Thank you. And if it wasn't for organizations like Healing Heroes, people like me would still be
18:04sitting in a chair at home, kicking stuff under the carpet and looking at the four walls,
18:10you know, just being alone. You know, it's like being out there in the rice paddy overnight,
18:17being alone all your life. Are you proud of what you did?
18:24I'm very proud of what I did. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.
18:28You would?
18:29Yes. Even if I had to do the exact same thing again, I would do it. You know, it's just
18:36part of me. I'm an American. You know, I fought for our freedoms. I fought for the right to say
18:43it's
18:43American-made. You know, freedom isn't free. It comes at a heavy price. But there's folks willing
18:54to take on that chore, you know, to pay that price, to keep us free and to enjoy what life
19:02has for us.
19:04There's organizations out there, guys, like Operation Healing Heroes and foundations that
19:10they're hooked up with that can give you the help you need. And it won't cost you anything.
19:19It's nothing but your time. And but please put in the time. Because it'll pay off for you.
19:26Well, this is just the start, Frank, of how we want to help you make tomorrow better than today. But
19:32we didn't make a custom rod. It's made by Thorne Brothers. It's a St. Croix blank. It's got Operation
19:38Healing Heroes and all the branches of service. American flag. That's for you. Hope you catch
19:43many more fish. More fish than we caught today, I hope. Bigger fish anyway. Bigger fish did. Thank
19:48you, Jay. And I did get you your own Operation Healing Heroes jersey with your name on there. We've
19:53got Frank Harris on the back. That's for you, brother. I can't say thank you enough. I know you
19:59don't think you're a hero, but I think you're a hero. Can I hug you? Yes, sir. Thank you, brother.
20:03Thank
20:03you so much. Thank you. It means the world to us. And I know you don't think you're a hero,
20:08but you're a hero, brother. Thank you. You're a hero. Beautiful.
20:20Frank's journey doesn't end today. His healing process is just beginning,
20:23and we have a plan for him to make tomorrow better than today.
20:31If you'd like to personally thank a veteran that you've seen in one of our episodes
20:34or nominate a veteran to be featured in a future episode,
20:38log on to our website, operationhealingheroes.org and click on the nominate button.
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