A Marine who wanted to be with the best of the best

Peter Gelzinis:

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Today, Jen Harris, 28, was supposed to touch down in California after completing her third combat tour as the lone female pilot of the Marines’ legendary Purple Foxes helicopter squadron.
Last Wednesday, while transporting blood between Baghdad and Fallujah, Harris, her co-pilot and a crew of five perished. An insurgent group with links to al-Qaeda has claimed credit for downing the CH-46 Sea Knight chopper, though there’s been no official U.S. confirmation.

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“In her squadron, Jen was known as ‘The Dove,’ ” her aunt, Linda Macone said with a radiant smile. “Despite all that was going on, Jen was quiet, peaceful and serene. In her e-mails and letters, she took great care to protect us from what she was seeing over there. She didn’t want Rosalie or her grandmother to worry. ”
Two months ago, Jen Harris sent home a new squadron patch that her family now sees as both poignant and hauntingly prophetic.
“It’s a casualty evacuation insignia that shows an angel holding up a helicopter,” Linda said. “The angel has blond hair, just like Jen. We don’t know for sure if Jen was the inspiration. But obviously we think she was.”

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When the honor student they described as “our Barbie doll girl, angelic but strong” told the family that she would become a Marine because the Marines were “the best of the best,” her grandmother cringed. “I said to her, ‘Jen, the Marines are always the first to fight.’ She tells me, ‘That’s why I want to be a Marine.’ ”

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Ray Harris remembered that last Wednesday had been a “good day.”
“Everyone was excited because Jen was coming home. Then, as I was about to fix supper for Rose, I caught sight of the three uniforms walking to the door. I just screamed, ‘Oh, no...no...no!”’

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Marines are very special people and Jen was certainly among the best of the best. We are fortunate to have people like her.