Army Spc. Dustin J. Harris, 21, of Patten, Maine; assigned to the 172nd Brigade Support Battalion, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Fort Wainwright, Alaska; killed April 6 when an improvised device detonated while he was conducting dismounted patrol operations in Bayji, Iraq.
"Maine Mourns Young Soldier"
PATTEN, Maine — A 21-year-old soldier from Patten who enlisted in the Army following his high school graduation was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq, officials said Friday.
Spc. Dustin James Harris from Fort Wainwright, Alaska, was on foot patrol Thursday with elements of the 101st Airborne Division in Bayji, 150 miles north of Baghdad, when the improvised explosive device detonated nearby, the Army said.
Word of Harris’ death spread quickly through this northern Penobscot County town and was confirmed by Gov. John Baldacci and members of the Maine congressional delegation.
Harris was a 2002 graduate of Katahdin High School in Stacyville, where his younger brother is a senior.
“He was just a wonderful young man and we’re going to miss him terribly,” said Principal Rae Bates, who remembered Harris as a good student and outstanding soccer player who was active in his church.
Bates said she had encouraged Harris to go on to college but he decided to join the military instead.
“I asked ‘are you sure you really want to do this?’ It was so soon after 9/11,” she recalled.
Harris’ grieving family said it was not prepared to talk about their son’s death at this time.
Baldacci’s office said flags will be ordered flown at half-staff on the day of Harris’ funeral.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Spc. Harris’ family during this difficult time,” said Baldacci. “James served his state and his nation honorably and all of Maine mourns his loss.”
No other soldiers were injured in the incident.
Harris was assigned the 172nd Brigade Support Battalion, which is part of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team stationed in Mosul.
Harris was a motor transport operator who joined the Army in July 2004. He was assigned to Fort Wainwright in February 2005.
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