Virginia Beach-based SEAL drowns in Afghanistan

Posted to: Military Virginia Beach

Joshua Thomas Harris

By Patrick Wilson
The Virginian-Pilot
© September 2, 2008

VIRGINIA BEACH

A Navy SEAL based in Virginia Beach was killed Saturday in Afghanistan, the Defense Department said.

Petty Officer 1st Class Joshua Thomas Harris, 36, of Lexington, N.C., drowned after being swept away by turbulent waters while crossing a river during combat, according to a statement from Naval Special Warfare Command.

He was assigned to the selective and secretive Naval Special Warfare Development Group at Dam Neck Annex. The group evaluates and develops tactics and tests equipment for Navy and other military special forces.

The group’s commander, Capt. Scott Moore, said in a statement that Harris was “an exemplary SEAL."

“He served his country valorously during multiple combat tours to Afghanistan and Iraq. He was a brave warrior, SEAL role model, mature and reliable teammate and an absolute great American,” Moore said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to Petty Officer Harris’ family. His loss is deeply felt by the entire Naval Special Warfare community.”

Harris joined the Navy in August 2000, the statement said. His first permanent duty station as a SEAL was at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base. He was sent on several combat deployments to Iraq with SEAL Team Ten.

He transferred to Naval Special Warfare Development Group in May 2006. Among his many awards is a Bronze Star, the Navy said.

“He will always be remembered as a warrior, a leader and a patriot,” Rear Admiral Garry Bonelli, commanding officer of Naval Special Warfare Command, said in the statement.

Harris graduated from Lexington High School and earned a degree in studio art from Davidson College in Davidson, N.C. He pursued a master’s degree in architecture from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the statement said. His art was displayed at showings on the east coast, including one in New York.

Survivors include a brother, twin sister and his parents, Sam and Evelyn Harris of Lexington, N.C.

Patrick Wilson, (757) 446-2957, patrick.wilson@pilotonline.com

Pilot writer Louis Hansen contributed to this story.

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