Memphis Belle

I had not seen this mentioned in the group and I thought it would be of interest. We have lost another piece of the fabric that helped shape our nation. Col Bob Morgan, captain of the Memphis Belle, died on May 16. Col Morgan lived within 50 miles of me, and I had the privilege to meet him when our FBO hosted "Sentimental Journey" a few years ago. I have on my office wall a signed picture of him standing by the nose of SJ. He was a quiet, unassuming man; a REAL American hero. Below is the text of the news article from the Asheville NC Citizen Times:

Col. Robert Morgan, an Asheville native and commander of the famed Memphis Belle B-17 bomber that flew combat missions over Europe during World War II, has died in an Asheville hospital, his wife Linda Morgan said.

Col. Morgan, 85, fell at the Asheville Regional Airport April 21, after attending an air show recently and had been hospitalized since.

"He fought a hard battle but he just had a lot of things against him," Linda Morgan said.

Col. Morgan came down with pneumonia last Monday and that combined with a massive infection contributed to his passing according to his wife.

"I want to thank each and every one of the people at Mission/St. Joseph's that contributed to his care. They were phenomenal," she said. "He got the best care anyone could get they are incredible, compassionate people."

Col. Morgan family was with him when he died.

The Memphis Belle was a World War II B-17 Flying Fortress in which Morgan and his crew flew 25 combat missions in daylight over Nazi-occupied France and Germany.

This occurred when 82 percent of the bombers in their bomb group were shot down in the first three months of combat beginning in November 1942.

Morgan put that into perspective by saying "you have breakfast with 10 guys, then you have dinner with only two. My crew and I aren't heroes, we didn't do anything any better than any other bomber crew. We were just ****** lucky."

On Nov. 24, 1944, he made history when his B-29 named "Dauntless Dotty" was chosen to lead the first B-29 raid on Tokyo.

It was the first U.S. raid against Tokyo since Doolittle's in 1942 in B-25s. Morgan went on to command 25 missions over Japan.

Very sorry to hear this news. I also met Col. Morgan several times at various air shows and have three signed pictures from him on my wall as well. I spoke to Col Morgan on several occasions and I agree with your statement 100%, “he was a quiet, unassuming man; a REAL American hero”.

Super nice guy and I was very lucky to have the chance to meet him!!!

FYI...
His plane is in Memphis, Tn. being restored.

http://www.memphisbelle.com/

Paul

QUESTION???
HOW MANY planes or Crews made the 25 missions? complete
is there a web sight?

Scott(gota know)Riese

The NASM B-26B-25-MA nicknamed Flak Bait (AAF serial number 41-31173) survived 207 operational missions over Europe, more than any other American aircraft during World War II. This Marauder earned its nickname after just a few missions. Other bombers returned unscathed but Flak Bait invariably returned full of holes. "It was hit plenty of times, hit all the time," recalls Farrell. "I guess it was hit more than any other plane in the group.

I had a chance to speak with him last month at Sun-N-Fun. A delightful gentleman to say the least. He slipped and fell in the terminal At Atlanta Hartsfield on his return home from Sun-N-Fun and was hospitalized but he never recovered. Very sad. He was an active and well known participant on the airshow circuit. He will be missed.

I was lucky enough to interview Travis Hoover when I was a reporter. He lives in Joplin, MO, and was the pilot of the No. 2 B-25 off the carrier Hornet, behind Doolittle. I talked to him via telephone about 5 years ago, just to check up and he was doing great then. We are losing these vets at a very alarmingly fast rate.

>I was lucky enough to interview Travis Hoover when I was a
>reporter. He lives in Joplin, MO, and was the pilot of the
>No. 2 B-25 off the carrier Hornet, behind Doolittle. I
>talked to him via telephone about 5 years ago, just to check
>up and he was doing great then. We are losing these vets at
>a very alarmingly fast rate.

We are going to lose every single one of them at some point. Not to mention all of us as well.

"Remember you are but a man and all glory is fleeting".

This is the warning a Roman slave whispered into the ear of each commander of an army as he returned in triumph thru the gates of Rome while he stood beside him in his chariot, the commander crowned with the laurel leaves of victory.

Mark it well and think on this as you munch on that hot dog, burger, or steak this Memorial day.

Jake