Charles Fauntleroy Harrison Jr. was born on September 27, 1910, in Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia. He was the son of Charles Fauntleroy Harrison and Mary Arthur Fendall Harrison. He attended Leesburg High School, Stuyvesant School, and the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) before graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1933. served five years with the 6th Cavalry at Fort Clark, Texas, representing the 5th Cavalry in national rifle and pistol competitions at Camp Perry, Ohio, where he earned multiple awards, including the Distinguished Pistol Badge, the Army’s highest marksmanship honor.

In 1939, he transferred to the Chemical Warfare Service at Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland, before deploying to the Philippines in 1941. When war broke out on December 7, 1941, Harrison commanded the 12th Separate Chemical Company, later serving as Division Chemical Officer under the Philippine Division during the Battle of Bataan. Refusing to surrender after Bataan fell, he briefly continued fighting in the hills before being captured and imprisoned in Camp O’Donnell, Cabanatuan, and Davao.

On May 22, 1944, Major Harrison and two others attempted to escape from Davao Prison Camp, but the plan failed when one participant hesitated, leaving Harrison trapped and overpowered. He was taken to the Japanese guardhouse and killed by prison authorities. He is now buried in the Union Cemetery, Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, alumni.westpointaog.org