Marine recruits completing the final grueling test at the end of boot camp will now face an event named for a Silver Star recipient who died in Afghanistan while trying to save his teammate.

On Thursday, officials from Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego renamed the improvised explosive device course recruits face during the Crucible in honor of Cpl. Larry Harris Jr. The mortar fire team leader was credited with repeatedly braving enemy fire as he attempted to evacuate a wounded Marine during a 2010 deployment.

Harris' story will be presented to thousands of recruits who pass through training on the West Coast every year, said Capt. Matthew Finnerty, a spokesman for the depot. Those recruits complete the Crucible at Camp Pendleton, California.

“Every Marine who goes through the Crucible on the West Coast will hear Cpl. Harris’ citation, his sacrifice and how he served the Marine Corps and the country to save his fellow Marines,” Finnerty said.


On July 1, 2010, Harris and other members of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines were on patrol in Helmand province when the enemy began taking potshots at their squad, according to his citation. As Harris maneuvered to outflank them, the team began taking heavy small arms and machine gun fire from about 40 nearby fighters.

Harris was able to help his squad withdraw by repeatedly braving incoming fire to suppress the enemy. When his machine gunner was shot in the leg, Harris didn’t miss a beat. He ran to fallen Marine, scooped him up and began moving him to safety to prepare a medical evacuation.

“As he moved through a vineyard while carrying the wounded Marine, Cpl. Harris struck an improvised explosive device, absorbing the majority of the explosion with his body,” his citation states. “Although his injuries would prove fatal, Cpl. Harris ultimately saved the life of the wounded Marine.”

When one of the Marines who served with Harris on that deployment was later assigned to the recruit depot's Weapons and Field Training Battalion, Finnerty said the Marine took it upon himself to try to have one of the Crucible’s events renamed in honor of the corporal.

“He put a package together for the command, and the command ultimately approved it,” Finnerty said.

That Marine has since left the Corps and was not available for an interview. Finnerty said officials at the recruit depot timed the dedication so Harris' family and other 3/1 Marines could attend.


The IED awareness course aboard Camp Pendleton is the first time recruits are exposed to the types of blasts they could encounter in a combat environment. It was previously named the "John Quick Trail" in honor of Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Maj. John Henry Quick’s actions in Cuba during the Spanish-American War.


The recruits learn how to identify IED and what to do if they encounter one, Finnerty said.

“The layout for the event itself is a trail with a number of small structures built along the way with a number of practice IEDs,” he said. “There’s smoke, they have sounds to signify when one would go off.”

The IED lane is one of several trials recruits endure as part of the final three-day test of skills and values learned during boot camp. Along the way, they learn about combat heroes like Harris in order to reinforce what it means to be a Marine.

Once they complete the Crucible, the recruits earn the coveted eagle, globe and anchor and the title of Marine.

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