MAY 20 • 2021 | 101

M

ort Harris of 
Bloomfield Hills, 
international 
industrialist, philanthropist 
and decorated WWII 
veteran, passed away on 
May 5, 2021. He was 101. 
Harris co-founded 
American Axle & 
Manufacturing (AAM), a 
multi-billion-dollar global 
Tier 1 automotive supplier.
“The AAM family was 
saddened to hear of the 
passing of Mort Harris,” 
said AAM Chairman and 
CEO David C. Dauch in 
a statement. “Mort was a 
great man and a special 
person that meant so much 
to so many. He certainly 
had a strong and positive 
influence on all that knew 
him.”
Harris was born April 
11, 1920, in Detroit. He 
was confirmed at Temple 
Beth El. He graduated from 
Central High School and 
began studying engineering 
in 1939 at Wayne University, 
the forerunner of Wayne 
State University (WSU). 
A true patriot, Harris left 
school to enlist in the 
WWII effort.
As a member of the U.S. 
8th Air Force, famously 
known as the “Mighty 
Eighth,” Harris became 
known as the “Berlin 
Kid” for the decisive 
B-17 bombing missions 
he flew over the German 
capital. Two of Harris’ 33 
missions included passes 

over the beaches 
of Normandy 
on D-Day; he 
survived two crash 
landings in the 
North Sea.
For his heroism 
and distinguished 
service in battle, 
Harris was 
awarded three 
U.S. Distinguished 
Flying Crosses, six air 
medals, a presidential 
citation, the Polish Medal 
of Honor and the French 
Legion of Honor, France’s 
highest decoration.
For all his success, like 
many of the Greatest 
Generation, Harris 
remained a modest and 
humble man who never 
sought out recognition 
for his accomplishments, 
either on the battlefield, 
in business or in his 
philanthropic endeavors, 
for which there were many. 
It was a lesson he learned 
form a very young age 
according to Harris’ first 
cousin, Ed Levy Jr., 90, of 
Birmingham.
“It was my father who 
taught Mort and I that 
money has three purposes,” 
said Levy Jr. “One, to put 
a roof over your head and 
that of your family and 
food on the table. Two, to 
practice the free enterprise 
system and practice it not 
only for your own benefit, 
but for the benefit of the 
people that helped you 

make it. And three, 
if there’s anything 
left over, it should 
go to good causes. 
He took that very 
seriously.” 
Those sentiments 
were echoed by 
WSU President M. 
Roy Wilson in a 
statement: “Anyone 
who has reached 
his incredibly high levels of 
success could be justifiably 
proud, but that wasn’t 
Mort,” Wilson said. “Despite 
his financial success and his 
many military and civilian 
honors, Mort was humble 
and kind, and he would 
happily opt for a sandwich 
over a five-star meal 
because it was the people he 
was with that mattered the 
most.”
WSU was on the receiving 
end of many generous 
donations by Harris. 
He made a $10 million 
donation to the Wayne-
Med-Direct program for 
students that WSU says 
“creates a pipeline for 
admission to Wayne State’s 
School of Medicine.” A 
recreation and fitness center 
at WSU also bears Harris’ 
name. 
The Detroit Symphony 
Orchestra, Detroit Institute 
of Arts, the Michigan 
Science Center, Northwood 
University, and community 
organizations like the 
Boys and Girls Clubs of 
Southeastern Michigan, 

Focus: Hope and Detroit 
Public Television are just a 
few of the beneficiaries of 
Harris’ endless generosity.
Sadly, Harris lost both his 
first wife, Edith, and second 
wife, Brigitte, to illness. He 
established the Edith Harris 
Memorial Lecture Series 
at WSU in her memory. A 
$10 million contribution to 
the Brigitte Harris Cancer 
Pavilion at the Henry Ford 
Cancer Institute just opened 
in January, which was part 
of $40 million in lifetime 
giving to the health system. 
He is survived by his 
and Edith’s three sons and 
Brigitte’s three children 
from a previous marriage. 
Harris is also survived by 
his close and loving friend, 
Sandy Morrison. 
Harris remained active for 
most of his 101 years and, 
as recently as 2017, shocked 
his cousin Ed, then 86, by 
asking him to arrange for 
what would be Harris’ first 
trip to Israel at the age of 
97. Three weeks later, the 
two began an unforgettable 
eight-day tour.
“Mort loved every minute 
of it,” said Levy Jr. “He 
couldn’t say enough about 
what an eye-opener it was. 
He even started saying 
things like maybe he should 
spend the rest of his life 
there.” 
A memorial service 
for Mort Harris is being 
planned for a later date. 

Jewish War Veteran and Co-Founder
of American Axle

ALAN MUSKOVITZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Mort Harris

