Linda Calhoun has always had a simple explanation for how her son, Army Pfc. Torry Harris, avoided the gangbangers in their Far South Side neighborhood.
“The only way I can put it is that when people see the light shining in you they don’t bother you,” Calhoun said.
The 6-foot-5 Harris, whom Calhoun described as a “gentle giant,” died on July 13 of non-combat related injuries in Tikrit, Iraq. Harris, 21, was one of 54 Illinois residents in the military to die in Iraq since the war began March 19, 2003.
It was never Harris’ intention to go to Iraq. Calhoun says her son joined the Army National Guard to earn money for college, where he planned to study computers. Still, just as he excelled at Carver Military Academy, Class of 2001, Harris earned a promotion five days after arriving in Iraq.
“That’s the type of person Torry was,” Calhoun said. “He didn’t look to gain things like that. It just came to him because he was such a nice person and he was giving of himself.”
Calhoun still cherishes the stories Harris’ friends would tell about Harris, whose generous spirit would often reveal itself in the unlikeliest of settings.
“[His friend] said, ‘While I’d be down there trying to rap to the girls, Torry would be giving his money away to the homeless,'” Calhoun said. “Torry would just look at him and say, ‘Money come, money go.'”
A framed portrait of Harris in his Army uniform rests on a coffee table inside Calhoun’s split-level house, where she lives with her three daughters and Harris’ nephew, who was born four days after Harris died.
“I keep his picture here,” Calhoun said. “Torry’s going to stay here forever. Anybody who sits here is going to have to see him.”
jgreenfield@tribune.com
Since Operation Iraqi Freedom began in March 2003, 1,253 U.S. troops have died there as of Tuesday, according to the Department of Defense. Of those, 54 were from Illinois.
With November tying April as the deadliest months for U.S. troops in Iraq, RedEye offers the faces of our state’s fallen men and women.
Jaime Moreno
28, Round Lake Beach
Army Specialist
Oct. 13, 2004
Roadside bombing in Baghdad
Benjamin K. Smith
24, Carterville
Marine Sergeant
Sept. 22, 2004
Explosion in Al Anbar province
Charles L. Neeley
19, Mattoon
Army Reserve Specialist
Aug. 25, 2004
Vehicle accident near Tikrit
Collier Barcus
21, McHenry
Army Private 1st Class
July 8, 2004
Mortar and bomb attack in Samarra
Peter J. Giannopoulos
22, Inverness
Marine Reserve Corporal
Nov. 11, 2004
Hostile fire in Babil province
Nicholas D. Larson
19, Wheaton
Marine Lance Corporal
Nov. 9, 2004
Hostile fire near Fallujah
Jessica L. Cawvey
21, Normal
Army National Guard Specialist
Oct. 6, 2004
Roadside bomb near Fallujah
Drew M. Uhles
20, Du Quoin
Marine Lance Corporal
Sept. 15, 2004
Hostile fire in Al
Anbar province
Christopher Belchik
30, Alton
Marine Corporal
Aug. 22, 2004
Explosion during a firefight in Al Anbar province
Christopher A. Wagener
24, Fairview Heights
Army Sergeant
July 1, 2004
Vehicle struck land mine while traveling to Mosul
Aaron C. Pickering
20, Harrisburg
Marine Lance Corporal
Nov. 10, 2004
Hostile fire in Al Anbar province
Joshua D. Palmer
24, Blandinsville
Marine Reserve Corporal
Nov. 8, 2004
Vehicle accident in Fallujah
Jack Taft Hennessy
21, Naperville
Army Sergeant
Oct. 1, 2004
Manning a checkpoint near Baghdad
Charles R. Lamb
23, Martinville/Casey
Army National Guard Specialist
Sept. 5, 2004
Mortar attack west of Baghdad
Jonathan W. Collins
19, Crystal Lake
Marine Lance Corporal
Aug. 8, 2004
Hostile fire in Al Anbar Province
Ernest E. Utt
38, Hammond
Army 1st Sergeant
June 27, 2004
Rockets crashed into his Baghdad base
David Mitchell Caruso
25, Naperville
Marine Sergeant
Nov. 9, 2004
Hostile fire in Fallujah
Branden P. Ramey
22, Boone
Marine Reserve Lance Corporal
Nov. 8, 2004
Hostile fire in Babil province
Ryan Leduc
28, Pana
Marine 2nd Lieutenant
Sept. 24, 2004
Vehicle accident in Ar Rutbah
Shawna M. Morrison
26, Paris/Champaign
Army National Guard Sergeant
Sept. 5, 2004
Mortar attack west of Baghdad
Torry D. Harris
21, Chicago
Army Private 1st Class
July 13, 2004
Non-combat-related injuries in Tikrit
Paul R. Syverson III
32, Lake Zurich
Army Major
June 16, 2004
Rocket fire in Balad
Jeremy Ridlen
23, Clinton
Army National Guard Specialist
May 23, 2004
Small-arms fire after roadside bombing in Fallujah
Shawn C. Edwards
20, Bensenville
Army Private 1st Class
April 23, 2004
Roadside bomb near Samarra
Forest Joseph Jostes
22, Albion
Army Corporal
April 4, 2004
Vehicle attacked in Baghdad
Uday Singh
21, Lake Forest
Army Specialist
Dec. 1, 2003
From injuries after patrol was attacked in Habbaniyah
Brian Slavenas
30, Genoa
Army National Guard 1st Lieutenant
Nov. 2, 2003
Helicopter shot down
Brandon Ramsey
21, Calumet City
Army National Guard Private 1st Class
Aug. 8, 2003
Security detail in Talil
Nicholas Kleiboeker
19, Odin
Marine Lance Corporal
May 13, 2003
Munitions accident
Brandon Jacob Rowe
20, Roscoe
Army Specialist
March 31, 2003
Fighting outside Najaf
William D. Chaney
59, Schaumburg
Army National Guard Staff Sergeant
May 18, 2004
Non-combat illness
Torrey L. Gray
19, Patoka
Marine Lance Corporal
April 11, 2004
Wounds suffered in gun battle in Al Anbar province
Geoffrey S. Morris
19, Gurnee
Marine Private 1st Class
April 3, 2004
Grenade in Al Anbar province
Scott Matthew Tyrrell
21, Sterling
Army Private
Nov. 20, 2003
Ammunition Accident
Ryan Carlock
25, Macomb
Army Specialist
Sept. 9, 2003
Injuries suffered when his fuel truck was attacked near Baghdad
Corey A. Hubbell
20, Urbana
Army Specialist
June 26, 2003
Breathing difficulties
Jakub Henryk Kowalik
21, Schaumburg
Marine Lance Corporal
May 12, 2003
Ordnance accident
Evan Tyler James
20, La Harpe
Marine Corporal
March 24, 2003
Drowned while attempting to cross Saddam Canal
Oscar Vargas-Medina
32, Chicago
Army Staff Sergeant
May 1, 2004
Supply convoy attacked near Al Amarah
Gregory R. Goodrich
37, Bartonville
Army Reserve
Private 1st Class
April 9, 2004
Grenade hit vehicle in Baghdad
Ivory L. Phipps
44, Chicago
Army National Guard Sergeant
March 17, 2004
Mortar attack at Baghdad supply base
William D. Dusenbery
30, Fairview Heights
Army Specialist
Nov. 15, 2003
Helicopter collision in Mosul
Christopher A. Sisson
20, Oak Park
Army Private 1st Class
Sept. 2, 2003
Helicopter crash near Baghdad
Andrew R. Pokorny
30, Naperville
Army Staff Sergeant
June 13, 2003
Vehicle accident in Al Asad
Lincoln Daniel Hollinsaid
27, Malden
Army Staff Sergeant
April 7, 2003
Hit with rocket-propelled grenade in Baghdad
Jonathan Lee Gifford
30, Macon
Marine Private
March 23, 2003
Hostile fire in An Nasiriyah
Landis W. Garrison
23, Rapids City
Army National Guard Sergeant
April 29, 2004
Gun-cleaning accident in Baghdad
Phillip E. Frank
20, Elk Grove
Marine Lance Corporal
April 8, 2004
Hostile fire in Al Anbar province
Michael J. Sutter
28, Tinley Park
Army National Guard Staff Sergeant
Dec. 26, 2003
Explosion while defusing bomb
John R. Sullivan
26, Countryside
Army Specialist
Nov. 15, 2003
Helicopter collision in Mosul
Matthew D. Bush
20, East Alton
Army Private
Aug. 8, 2003
Illness
Timothy Louis Ryan
30, Aurora
Marine 1st Lieutenant
May 19, 2003
Helicopter crash near Al Hillah
Edward Smith
38, Chicago
Marine 1st Sergeant
April 5, 2003
Shot during battle in central Iraq
Ryan Beaupre
30, St. Anne
Marine Captain
March 21, 2003
Helicopter crash in Kuwait, about 9 miles from Iraq
