Fred "Red" Harris (28 February 1910 – 20 October 1979) was a lawyer,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

politician and Dallas County judge. He served as an officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and, in later life, became a painter of scenes from the American Western frontier.

Early life and education

Harris was the son of Charles Frederick Harris and Marie Calcote Harris. He was christened Charles Frederick Jr., but his parents called him Fred and many others called him Red because of his red hair. Harris graduated from

Oak Cliff High School William Hardin Adamson High School, formerly Oak Cliff High School, is a public secondary school located in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas, United States. It is part of the Dallas Independent School District and is classified as a 5A schoo ...

in 1927. After high school, he attended

Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 popul ...

, on an athletic scholarship and participated on the football, basketball, track and baseball teams. Harris was recruited to play professional baseball by the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

and briefly played second base for their minor league franchises in

Wichita Falls, Texas Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls metropolitan area, Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Archer County, Tex ...

, and

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, third-most populous city in Arkansas, United States, and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County, Arkansas, Sebastian County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the pop ...

. He returned to Waco and received his bachelor of law degree in August 1932.

Early career

Harris received his law license in November 1932 and began to practice law in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. In 1934, he ran for a seat in the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

and was elected after defeating the incumbent George Parkhouse in the party primary. In 1935, after the end of his first legislative session in

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

and never having liked his given name of Charles, he had his name legally changed to Fred Red Harris to differentiate himself from another prominent Dallas resident who was also named Fred Harris. Harris resigned from his seat in the House at the end of 1941 to become a Dallas County commissioner.

Military service

Harris decided to join the Navy in mid-1942 and his wife was appointed to complete his term as county commissioner. He was trained and commissioned as a

lieutenant junior grade Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), i ...

in the Naval Reserve. His initial assignment was as a flight deck officer on the escort carrier during the final stages of her pre-commissioning and her initial voyages in the Atlantic theatre. In late 1943, Harris was reassigned to be a flight deck officer on the carrier . He participated in her commissioning and throughout her wartime service in the Pacific theatre. Harris was awarded the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

and

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

after ''Franklin'' was struck by a Japanese ''

Kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

'' in October 1944. He received the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Naval Service's second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is equivalent to the Army ...

and a second Purple Heart after ''Franklin'' was attacked by a Japanese

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

in March 1945. In late 1945, Harris was promoted to lieutenant commander and released from active duty.

Post-war career

Harris was elected to the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate ...

in 1946. He ran for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

in 1950, but lost to Ben Ramsey in the Democratic primary. After Earl Huddleston resigned from the House of Representatives in June 1951, Harris won his seat in a special election. He retired from Texas state politics in January 1953. In 1963, Harris was appointed as a judge in Dallas County. In his spare time, he took up oil painting. His works were displayed in several one-man art shows and later published in a book. Harris and his wife moved to Waco in 1976 after his retirement.

Personal

Harris married Gussie Merle Hubert on 16 October 1935. They had three daughters.

Early life and education

Early career

Military service

Post-war career

Personal

References

Further reading