page_title: Cecil E. Harris
section_title: Recognition
hierarchical_section_title: Cecil E. Harris / Recognition
caption_attribution_description: English: Cecil E. Harris's plaque in the Carrier Aviation Hall of Fame aboard the USS Yorktown.
context_page_description: Captain Cecil Elwood "Cece" Harris was an American schoolteacher, naval aviator and flying ace of World War II. Harris is remembered for actions in the Pacific Ocean Theater, which earned him nine combat medals including the Navy Cross, the highest award for valor after the Medal of Honor. He ended the war as the navy's second-highest-scoring ace after David McCampbell, credited with shooting down 24 Japanese planes. Harris scored 16 of his aerial victories in four different days, downing four enemy aircraft on each of those days. Never during the course of his 88-day tour with VF-18 did a bullet hit his aircraft. It has been said that Harris "was arguably the most consistently exceptional fighter pilot in the US Navy".
context_section_description: On May 25, 2009, a segment of Highway 20 in South Dakota was designated the Cecil Harris Memorial Highway. Senators Johnson and Thune read their remembrances of Harris into the U.S. Congressional Record to mark the occasion. In 2014, a statue of Harris was dedicated on the grounds of his alma mater, Northern State University. There is also a place dedicated to Cecil E. Harris and all of the veterans of Cresbard, SD, at the Cresbard community center.
caption: Cecil Harris's commemorative plaque aboard USS Yorktown
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