USMC LCPL Shane Patrick Harris (KIA 9-3-2006)

Shane Harris, the 23-year-old Las Vegas, N.M.-area man killed Sunday in Iraq’s Anbar province, was just days away from coming home, according to Marine Corps spokesman Sgt. Chris Cox.

Harris, a lance corporal with the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, had been in Iraq since February, and his battalion was scheduled to come home this month, Cox said.

Friends and family described Harris as a devout Christian with a strong work ethic and sense of patriotic duty. “He loved his country, and he loved what he was doing over there,” said Harris’ father, Pat Harris. “He loved the people over there. He was playing soccer with the kids and visiting and laughing with the adults.”

Sam Dixon, a former Marine who worked with Shane Harris, his father and two brothers at the Cabo Lucero Volunteer Fire Department, said Pat Harris told him the Marine was killed by a “roadside bomb.” Anbar, the largest province in Iraq, shares a border with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The city of Fallujah is located in Anbar, at one time considered a hotbed of Iraqi insurgency. Cox declined to confirm how Harris’ died, citing security concerns. Harris was the 22nd member of the military from New Mexico to die in the war in Iraq since it began in March 2003. The family plans to bury Harris at its ranch in San Geronimo, a tiny rural village about 15 miles southwest of Las Vegas. Wayne Sonchar, a family friend and its spokesman, said the Harrises don’t know when the memorial service will be held. “They’re not certain when the body will be stateside,” he said. “They’ve been told it could take four to six weeks.”

Pat Harris, his wife, Carol, and their four children, Logan, Shane, Ryan and Tiffany, moved to New Mexico from Texas in 1993, Sonchar said.

The family owns and operates Pappy’s Construction, Sonchar said. Shane Harris was home-schooled and was an outdoor enthusiast who enjoyed hiking, hunting, fishing and skiing, according to those who knew him.

Dixon described him as a typical rural kid “into God and country.”

“He was a very hard-working kid, very polite, very levelheaded and energetic,” Dixon said.

“He wanted to serve in the Marine Corps, and he wanted to go to Iraq. He felt it was his duty.”

“He was a great man,” Pat Harris said. “He told his mamma, ‘If I don’t stand between, if I don’t go over there and stand over there, they are going to be over here, and your grandbabies are not going to have the life I had.’”

“He was the type of individual that all of us would like our sons to be,” Sonchar said. “He was kind, generous and truly devoted, whether it be to his faith, his family, or as we can see now, to his country.”

“He was the type of individual that all of us would like our sons to be,” Sonchar said. “He was kind, generous and truly devoted, whether it be to his faith, his family, or as we can see now, to his country.”

Casas por Cristo IMO Lance Corporal Shane P. Harris

Each spring we go to Anapra, Mexico and build a home for a homeless family. These homes have 3 rooms to them and electricity. We leave a framed picture of Shane with each family, a Bible and the keys to their safe, warm, new home. The families are so happy.

The cost of the materials is $7,000 and we go with a group named Casas por Cristo. The funds come from us, friends, and family who want to help. We have built 5 homes in the past 5 years to honor the memory of our son, Lance Corporal Shane P. Harris. Friends have traveled from Norway and Canada and Iceland to participate.

Shane had hoped to start building Casas por Cristo Homes with us when he got back home-we keep his dream alive!!!

If anyone is interested in joining us please contact us. It takes about a week to build a house. Pat and Carol Harris 505-454-6545

There is a memorial honoring Shane at Angel Fire Ski Resort- if you are in Angel Fire look for Shane's Glade on the back side of the mountain. An honorary marker was placed there by the Resort, at the entry to the glade. The only cost is the lift ticket and Military Folks get a special discount. Shane was a Ski Patrol Employee at Angel Fire before going into the Marines.

 Third Light Armored Recon

Battalion—Company A

Apache Co., Blue Platoon

A boy

A man

Hunter, trapper,

catcher of fish

A carpenter and

fighter of fires

A skilled sharpshooter

An awesome skier

A good son and brother

A loyal friend

A true Christian

A good Marine

A life lived well

Too short

A hero

By Susan McIntyre

Given by the Lord

April 15, 1983

Taken to be with the Lord

September 3, 2006

Blessed Be The Name of the Lord!