The final funeral
Published 6:00 am Thursday, April 10, 2025
Former Triple Nickle Sgt. Joe Harris died March 15, 2025, in California. His funeral was April 5. During World War II, Harris served in an all-Black battalion stationed in Pendleton. (Kevin Martin/Contributed Photo)
Members of the United States Army and Forest Service attend Sgt. Joe Harris's funeral April 5, 2025, in Los Angeles. Harris, 108, died in March and was believed to be the last remaining Triple Nickle. (Kevin Martin/Contributed Photo)
Antonio Harris steps to the stage April 12, 2024, to honor his grandfather, Sgt. Joe Harris, who is the last known surviving member of the all-Black 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, known as The Triple Nickles, at the Operation Firefly commemoration at the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport in Pendleton.
Last surviving Triple Nickle Sgt. Joe Harris died in March
PENDLETON — Eighty years after an all-Black battalion of men served as paratroopers and firefighters based out of Pendleton, the man believed to be the final living Triple Nickle died.
Sgt. Joe Harris died March 15 in in Los Angeles at age 108. His funeral was April 5, and representatives from the United States Army as well as the United States Forest Service honored him with their attendance.
But in 1945, toward the end of World War II, Harris was a member of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, an all-Black unit based at Pendleton Field, the location of the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport.
The Triple Nickles are generally considered the first smokejumpers as part of firefighting efforts, though they were part of a military operation. Their battalion was assigned to fight fires in the Pacific Northwest that were expected to ignite due to thousands of Japanese balloon bombs that were sent across the Pacific Ocean, according to the National Museum of the United States Army.
Of 1,000 balloon bombs believed to have made it to the United States, 342 were seen or found. Because they were mostly deployed during the winter, few fires started from them. Still, from April to October 1945, the Triple Nickles were part of Operation Firefly and made about 1,200 jumps while helping suppress 36 wildfires in the mountainous, tree-covered region.
While their white counterparts overseas averaged fewer than 10 jumps, the Triple Nickles averaged more than 40, and theirs were directly into smoke and wildfire. By the end of World War II, they were the most experienced jumpers.
Harris’s grandson, Antonio R. Harris, attended a commemorative jump honoring the Triple Nickles in Pendleton last year. He told the gathered crowd of a few hundred that his grandfather made 72 successful jumps during the war.
At the time, Antonio described his grandfather as “a true treasure” and said it meant a lot to him to see his grandfather honored at the event.
Harris himself, 107 at the time, did not attend the ceremony, but made a brief appearance via video call to hear cheers from the crowd in his honor.
After the ceremony, Antonio said, “My grandfather is Black history, and it’s important for him to be acknowledged.”
Now with Harrie’s death, the Triple Nickles exist only in memories and the history they made.
