Richard Lewis Harris was born in San Francisco, California on April 18, 1921, to Mr. and Mrs. L. I. Harris. His brothers Elbert and Lawrence and his sisters Audrey and Emma Mae rounded out the Harris family. Richard grew up in the Pajaro Valley and attended Watsonville High School for three years. The Harris family relocated to San Miguel, California, where he met his future wife, Louise. Prior to the beginning of World War II, Harris was residing in Los Angeles, California and employed as a commercial vehicle driver.

Harris was inducted into the US Army on November 8, 1942, and trained at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and Camp Pickett, Virginia, before being assigned to an unspecified combat unit. In April 1944, Sergeant Harris was shipped overseas to a staging area in England in preparation for the invasion of France.

A September 11, 1944, article appearing in the Watsonville Register-Pajaronian noted that Sergeant Richard L. Harris suffered a wound during the invasion at Normandy and on July 24, 1944, he died as a result of that wound. It is believed that Harris' remains were returned to the US for burial, yet the location of his gravesite is not known.

(CBR; NARA2; WRP September 11, 1944 1:2)