COMPTON, Calif. (KABC) -- Sgt. Joe Harris, World War II's oldest surviving paratrooper, died at the age of 108. But his memory will live on in the history books and the community of Compton.
Harris was a member of the Army's historic all-Black 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, known as the "Triple Nickels."
"These paratroopers were given a task that no one else had ever been trained for, which was to actually parachute into a live fire and attack or attempt to put it out or change its trajectory from going toward certain cities and military installations," said Sgt. Jordan Bednarz, infantryman and civil affairs specialist
Harris was a trailblazer, laying the foundation for Black integration into the armed forces. His family says he made 72 successful jumps during WWII.
A C4-7 flyover took place at his funeral - the same plane he jumped out of.
"He commanded the room. His presence just commanded the room and it was the honor of a lifetime to be able to shake that man's hand and see the trickledown effect of what's he's caused and now his son is a paratrooper as well," Bednarz said.