John Cary "Red" Morgan was born on August 24, 1914, in Vernon, Wilbarger County, Texas. He was the son of Samuel Asa Leland Morgan and Verna Mary Johnson Morgan. He was the husband of Gladys Morgan.
John graduated from a military school in 1931 and then attended several colleges, including Amarillo College, New Mexico Military Institute, West Texas State Teachers College, and the University of Texas at Austin. While at Texas he learned to fly aircraft, and in 1934 dropped out of college. He worked in the Fiji Islands as a foreman on a pineapple plantation until 1938, when he returned to enlist as an aviation cadet in the U.S. Army Air Corps. However, because of his poor education record, he was refused enlistment. Working at an oil-drilling site for Texaco, Morgan suffered a broken neck in an industrial accident, and as a result, was later classified 4-F by the Selective Service System.
In August 1941, Morgan joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, and after completion of flight training in Saskatchewan, Ontario, and RAF Church Lawford, England, was posted as a Sergeant Pilot with RAF Bomber Command. On March 23, 1943, he was transferred to the U.S. Army Air Forces as a Flight Officer and assigned to the 92nd Bomb Group's 326th Bomb Squadron, RAF Alconbury, England.
Morgan, on his fifth U.S. mission, was co-pilot of a crew flying a B-17F #42-29802, to a target in Hanover, Germany, on July 28, 1943. It was for his participation in this mission that he received the Medal of Honor, which was awarded on December 18, 1943.
General Eaker directed Morgan to fly no more combat. But Morgan decided that if the war was not over for the Allies, it wasn’t over for him. He volunteered for several more missions, including the first Berlin raid of March 6, 1944. On that day, Morgan’s war against Nazi Germany came to an end. His B-17 was shot down and became a POW in the Luftwaffe at Stalag Luft I.
After the war, Morgan returned to work for Texaco in California selling aviation fuel. Called back to active duty when the Korean War broke out, he took a leave of absence from Texaco (1950–53) and applied for combat duty. The Air Force denied his request but allowed him to fly cargo planes in the United States for two years. He completed his final year on active duty in the office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force. In 1957, he retired from the Air Force Reserves as a Lieutenant Colonel.
Morgan died on January 17, 1991, from complications associated with Alzheimer's and a stroke. He is buried in the Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA.
MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty, while participating on a bombing mission over enemy-occupied continental Europe, 28 July 1943.
Prior to reaching the German coast on the way to the target, the B17 airplane in which 2nd Lt. Morgan was serving as copilot was attacked by a large force of enemy fighters, during which the oxygen system to the tail, waist, and radio gun positions was knocked out. A frontal attack placed a cannon shell through the windshield, totally shattering it, and the pilot’s skull was split open by a .303 caliber shell, leaving him in a crazed condition. The pilot fell over the steering wheel, tightly clamping his arms around it. 2nd Lt. Morgan at once grasped the controls from his side and, by sheer strength, pulled the airplane back into formation despite the frantic struggles of the semiconscious pilot. The interphone had been destroyed, rendering it impossible to call for help. At this time the top turret gunner fell to the floor and down through the hatch with his arm shot off at the shoulder and a gaping wound in his side. The waist, tail, and radio gunners had lost consciousness from lack of oxygen and, hearing no fire from their guns, the copilot believed they had bailed out. The wounded pilot still offered desperate resistance in his crazed attempts to fly the airplane. There remained the prospect of flying to and over the target and back to a friendly base wholly unassisted. In the face of this desperate situation, 2nd Lt. Officer Morgan made his decision to continue the flight and protect any members of the crew who might still be in the ship and for 2 hours he flew in formation with one hand at the controls and the other holding off the struggling pilot before the navigator entered the steering compartment and relieved the situation.
The miraculous and heroic performance of 2nd Lt. Morgan on this occasion resulted in the successful completion of a vital bombing mission and the safe return of his airplane and crew.
Source of information: www.mightyeighth.org, en.wikipedia.org, www.findagrave.com