Everyone knows Jonathan Harris.

Case in point.  Lt. Col. Anna Sullivan, public affairs officer at McChord's 446th Airlift Wing, sat on a deserted South Pacific island several years ago when a man approached from down the beach.  Too awkward not to say something, seeing the two of them were the only humans within sight, Sullivan greeted the man with the customary, "where are you from?"

The man announced that he hailed from Washington State.

Slightly flabbergasted, Sullivan asked, "Where specifically?"

"McChord," the man replied.

Amused, Sullivan explained that she too worked at McChord.

Upon hearing this, the man said something that did not surprise Sullivan in the least.  "Do you know Jonathan Harris?" he asked.

"Everyone knows Jonathan," Sullivan confirmed.

If there is a Mr. McChord, Harris is certainly in the running for the title.  He's been one of the faces of the base going back decades, and most recently as an organizer and spokesperson for the Rodeo and airshow programs at McChord.  He's been an autopilot specialist, top-enlisted advisor, and community activist, and now he's ready to park that career in the hangar and explore something new ... likely from behind the wheel of one of his classic cars.

"It's been a great career," Harris said recently from his office inside the Rodeo building just down the hill from the Castle.  

Jonathan Harris was born in Salem, Virginia, June 24, 1943.  His father started in a meatpacking facility, but later worked for General Electric.  His mother began her career as a homemaker, transitioned to a kindergarten teacher, and then finished as Salem's Senior Citizen Center Director.

"I had fun - we had a ball," Harris said of his childhood, growing up in the segregated South.  Still, five days after high school, he did what he had dreamed he'd do for years - he joined the United States Air Force.

"I needed to get out of the South," Harris said.  

Harris joined as an autopilot specialist, asking his parents to support his decision.  He told them to give any support they might lend to college to his younger brother, who, incidentally, ended up with a doctorate in education from Harvard.

Harris has no regrets.  He did basic at Lackland, and then arrived at Ellsworth Air Force Base in December 1961, where except for a six-month stint in Guam, and a year in Thailand, he did all eight years of active duty.

Finished with that experience, his mom said to come home.

"But there was no employment in Salem," Harris said.  Instead, he took a job with Boeing, and moved to Everett, Washington as an inspector.  But, those were tough times for Boeing and the economy, and soon Harris received a pink slip.

"There was a sign on Aurora at the time that said the ‘last one to leave Seattle, please turn out the lights.'"

Harris knocked around for a little while; working in a filling station, for the black newspaper Facts, but then a family friend suggested he sign up for the Air Force Reserves.

"They hired me," Harris said.  

He went to work as both a reservist and a civilian employee as an autopilot specialist with the 939th Military Airlift Group, an associate unit transferred to McChord from Portland, Oregon in 1968.  The unit flew C-119's.  The unit became the 446th Military Airlift Wing (Associate) in 1973.

For the next several years, Harris progressed up the enlisted ladder, from technician to supervisor.  In 1988, he reached the pinnacle, senior-enlisted advisor for the 446th Airlift Wing.

Pushing back tears, Harris said he owed his success to Art Morrison, his first boss.

"He taught us to surround ourselves with smart people, and if we did, our career would be successful," Harris said.

Seven of the airmen in that small unit under Morrison later made chief.

In 1995, Harris retired from the 446th.  He continued working for the 62nd Airlift Wing as a maintenance supervisor until a second retirement in 2003.

He thought that might be the end of his relationship at McChord.

"I became a house husband," Harris said.  "I didn't like it."

Luckily, the 62nd Airlift Wing's Mission Support Commander came knocking.  They needed Jonathan to help support Rodeo, a then bi-annual competition for airlift and tanker units around the world.

Harris went to work for TekStar, Inc., a contractor tasked to Rodeo as the Rodeo Program Manager.  He also worked on the McChord Airshow the same year.

"It practically killed us doing both," he mused.

After 2005, the 62nd found a way to hire Harris as a civil service annuitant rehire employee to support both Rodeo and in the off years, the airshow.  He has held that position since having produced four Rodeos in 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011, and four airshows in 2005, 2008, 2010 and 2012.

On the wall near his desk, a picture hangs with words that may best sum up Harris' 38 years at McChord.  "This Ain't My First Rodeo."

Harris is divorced and has four stepchildren and nine grandchildren from his second marriage and two step-children from his third.  He leaves it at that.

But, he talks animatedly about his future.  His girlfriend, (his Movie Star) Betty Davis, and he plan to enjoy retirement fully.

Betty owns a 34-foot Airstream with which the two plan to use to see the United States.

"As I have become more seasoned, I find myself wanting to travel somewhere," he said.

Jonathan also owns vintage cars, including a 1957 Chevy two-door wagon, 1966 El Camino and 64 Chevelle.

They'll end up in mid-September at the Reno Championship Air Races.  For those that know Harris, that may come as a surprise.  After all, Harris nearly lost his life there in 2011.

Eleven people were killed and 70 were injured when veteran pilot Jimmy Leeward crashed his P-51 Mustang at the end of an Unlimited Class race that September. Leeward lost control after a piece of the aircraft came off in a sharp, banking turn. Leeward's WWII-era plane disintegrated on impact, sending debris into spectators in the VIP box seats on the tarmac.

Given box seats by a friend, Harris, an avid air show enthusiast and board member for the International Council of Air Shows Foundation, was watching the action when Leeward' s airplane went into a sudden climb after losing a trim tab. Right then, Harris knew something was wrong but it didn't really hit him until the airplane starting descending at a high rate of speed.

"That propeller started getting pretty big," Harris said. "It was surreal. There was no way he was going to pull up."

Harris and his friends started running for their lives.

"We ran about twenty feet but it felt like we were running forever," he said. "We didn't make it that far."

The aircraft crashed behind him, and the shock wave from the impact knocked Harris onto the tarmac. He was peppered with debris and shrapnel, but fortunately not seriously injured.

"It felt like I had been in a fight or gotten tackled at a football game," he said.

Although he was left dazed from the impact, Harris got up and surveyed the damage.

"We were covered with some fuel from the plane and other debris," he said.

Harris started walking back to the part of the field where a team that was supporting the group of first responders had set up for the race. As they were helping Harris take his soiled clothes off, the impact of everything started to sink in.

"People were handing me alcohol wet naps to wipe myself down, and I knew by the look on their faces I'm looking pretty bad," Harris said.

Harris suffered PTSD from that incident, but through counseling, he's managed to work through it.  He's gone back to the show every year since the crash.

It is not just the McChord community that knows Harris. To call him a volunteer is an understatement. He served 12 years on the Steilacoom School Board and two years on the Washington State School Board of Education.  He is a member of Allen A.M.E. (African Methodist Episcopal) Church since 1994, and a member of "Sons of Thunder" Men's Choir. He was also the assistant tournament director for WIAA Boys & Girls State Basketball Championships at the Tacoma Dome for 20 Years. He currently serves on the Pierce College Foundation Board.

He's also an avid Seattle Seahawk's fan, and has had six season tickets since 1979.  

Harris' last day at McChord is June 3.  How does one sum up such an illustrious career?

"I've loved my time at McChord," he said.  "I've enjoyed the camaraderie - everyone working for a common goal.  I'll miss that.  Everything I've needed in my life is here at McChord.  It's the everyday stuff - the relationships."

There is a poem by St. Jerome, the Father of the Latin Church, which his third grade teacher taught (Mrs. Jessie Jones) Harris.  It helped set the course for his life.  It went: "Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best."

"I've always tried to do my best," Harris said.  "That's what it is all about."

Tyler Hemstreet contributed to this story.