Father and son both receive Silver Stars

updated 5:09 p.m. ET Nov. 28, 2008

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - Jonathan Harris, a Blackhawk pilot who withstood enemy fire to save a wounded crewmember in Afghanistan, was awarded a Silver Star on Friday. Not to be outdone, his 60-year-old father was awarded a Silver Star and a Bronze Star in a simultaneous ceremony honoring his bravery in Vietnam.

The two generations watched each other through a video teleconference between Fort Campbell, where the elder Gary Harris was honored, and Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, where Jonathan is completing a tour.

Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser, top commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, told retired Staff Sgt. Gary Harris via video that he hoped the special ceremonies repaid the Army's failure to give him an official ceremony nearly 40 years ago.

Gary Harris, of Corbin, Ky., originally received his medals in the mail. He was officially pinned with a Silver Star by the deputy commanding general-rear for the 101st Airborne Division for gallantry in action against an armed hostile force in Vietnam. He also received a Bronze Star for meritorious achievement during his time in Vietnam.

According to the Army, the elder Harris was serving as a squad leader in August 1969 with a company near Go Rieng that came under intense mortar and rocket fire. He held off attackers and got his wounded fellow soldiers safely aboard a medical helicopter.

The younger Harris, 35, was given the award for exceptional gallantry against enemy forces in July, when his helicopter was struck by rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft artillery near the Afghan city of Gardez.

According to the Army, three soldiers' lives were saved when Harris, who holds the rank of chief warrant officer 2, killed an insurgent and dragged his wounded crew chief to safety.

"I'm kinda jealous, Dad; you've got two medals and I've only got one," the younger Harris joked after receiving his medals at Bagram.

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