The Soldier’s Daughter — How Harris Faulkner’s Upbringing Shaped Her Strength
She’s one of the most respected women in cable news — a six-time Emmy winner, bestselling author, and proud mom of two. But beyond the bright lights of The Faulkner Focus, Harris Faulkner is still the “military brat” who grew up under the steady hand of her father, Lt. Col. Bobby Harris, and the quiet grace of her mother.
“Growing up in a military household meant structure,” she said, “but it also meant unshakable love.”
Her father served two tours in Vietnam as a combat pilot. Her mother, she adds, was “the greatest civilian warrior” her father ever knew.
“I’ll never forget the day my father saluted my mother’s casket,” Faulkner recalled softly. “He said, ‘I salute the greatest civilian warrior I’ve ever known.’”
That moment captured the values that have guided Harris throughout her career — respect, fairness, and an unwavering sense of purpose. Her father’s motto still drives her: “Die trying to finish what you started.”
In her powerful Fox Nation special, Vietnam: Footsteps of My Father, Faulkner retraces her father’s service — from Red Beach in Da Nang to the rooftop where the last Americans left Saigon. It’s both a history lesson and a deeply personal tribute.
“I went into one of the tunnels,” she said. “I’m claustrophobic. But down there, I realized there’s always a price to pay to fight for something bigger than yourself.”
That moment, she said, changed how she saw not only her father’s service, but her own purpose — to honor truth, sacrifice, and the quiet power of faith.