Hiram Dennis Harris was the oldest of 13 children of Georgia farmers James Harris and Bessie Couch Harris.

Born July, 7, 1920 in Senoia south of Atlanta, Hiram Dennis was 17 when he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, a federal Depression-era jobs program.

The CCC, as it was known, employed single men 18 to 25 to plant trees, build roads and trails and make other improvements to public land, forests and parks. The men lived at camps across the country and were provided a bed and three meals a day. Of their $30 monthly pay, $25 was sent to their families. He served in Co. 5453 at Rogue River, Oregon. He was there when he applied to the Navy.

He enlisted on July 23, 1940, and was a seaman first class on the U.S.S. Arizona when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.

American Legion Post 15 in Griffin, Georgia, is named, in part, in his honor.

At least six of his brothers also served in the military — Clovis H. and James in the Navy in World War II; Render and Jones in the Army, and David in the Army National Guard; and Joel in the Air Force.

Sources: HonorOurKIA.org of Griffin, Georgia; Census; Navy enlistment records and muster roll; grave markers; obituaries; U.S. Department of Defense. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.