World War II veteran Bob Harris of Wyandotte stands by a photo display of musicians he met during his career as a promoter.
World War II veteran Bob Harris of Wyandotte wears a T-shirt denoting that he recently celebrated his birthday by skydiving.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
WYANDOTTE – World War II veteran Bob Harris recently celebrated his 95th birthday by skydiving.
Harris, who was born in Chicago in 1930, came to Detroit in 1941 with his mother.
In 1944, at age 14, he used the birth certificate of a neighbor boy who had died in childhood and was born two years before him to enlist in the U.S. Merchant Marine. He later joined the Naval Reserve in and then the Army, where he served with the occupying forces in Japan.
Harris was fingerprinted when he entered the service, so years later, when he sought to have his military record changed to his real name, his fingerprints verified his identity.
When he returned to the Detroit area in 1946, he got a job with the Hudson Motor Car Co. for eight years.
Harris worked as a promoter in the music business, and managed the three-sister singing group Three Ounces of Love, who toured as an opening act for The Commodores.
He also served as a promoter for the 1972 movie “Buck and the Preacher,” which starred Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte.
At one time Harris published three local newspapers, including Teen News, and he co-wrote a book, “Motor City Rock and Roll: The 1960s and 1970s” with John Douglas Peters.
He said Mick Jagger, whom he interviewed for Teen News, declared him to be the “oldest Rolling Stones fan.”
Harris also met actor Gary Sinise, who is an active supporter of veterans groups, whom he said took him and other World War II veterans from the Detroit area to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans for a three-day event with Soaring Valor, sponsored by the Gary Sinise Foundation.
“Boy, what a time,” he said. “That was really nice of them people to do that.”
Harris and his wife, Hope, had six children, 19 grandchildren, 30 great grandchildren and eight great-great grandchildren.
World War II veteran Bob Harris (left) of Wyandotte, who recently celebrated his birthday by skydiving, poses with his son Tony Harris.
When he met entertainer Bob Hope, he told him he’d been promoting him for free for years, because his first name was Bob and his wife’s name was Hope, which he said earned a heart-felt laugh from the celebrity.
He also met and interviewed Hubert Humphrey, 38th vice president of the United States, when he was in the Detroit area.
Harris said the secret to a long life may be that he never used recreational drugs, drank moderately, and walked a lot.
He said he has an easy-going personality and values time spent with his family.
Harris said he has survived three types of cancer: prostate, colon and skin.
He also survived being shot in the leg by a Chicago gangster when he was 9 years old, as well as being in a rolled-over car in which he was a passenger as a teenager.
Harris said his goal is to live to be at least 100 years old, and to skydive with five generations of his family.
He said he also signed up to be part of a program that would send select seniors on space flights, but he never got contacted.
“I hope to go to the moon one of these days if they’ll take me,” Harris said.