Remembering Vietnam Colonel Carlyle “Smitty” Harris
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – Tributes are pouring in for Colonel Carlyle “Smitty ” Harris, the longtime Mississippi resident, former prisoner of war in Vietnam, and decorated war hero, who passed away this weekend.
Harris was 96 and passed away Sunday, July 6, at Tupelo’s Sanctuary Hospice House. Harris was flying a combat mission over North Vietnam when his F-105 fighter jet was shot down. He became the sixth American pilot captured and imprisoned by Communist North Vietnamese forces.
Throughout the next 8 years, Colonel Harris not only endured the brutal conditions in prison but also developed the “tap code,” a simple method of communication that POWs used to encourage each other and to preserve unity.
Harris was released in 1973, returning home to his wife, Louise, and family in Tupelo. Colonel Harris was honored with two Purple Hearts, two Silver Stars, three Legion of Merit medals, and other commendations.
He wrote about his experience in the book “Tap Code.” Funeral arrangements haven’t been announced for Colonel Harris.
