Medal of honor - with one hand

While researching something totally unrelated I ran across the story of John C Morgan (Sgt./ Lt. Col).

OK, so the ranks are a tale in itself...

"Born August 24, 1914, in Vernon, Texas,...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.

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. He retired from the Air Force, a lieutenant colonel."

Why the title? Well, after transfer to the USAAF he flew 25 1/2 missions but one was particularly significant. Rather than read the wiki page, it's more fun to watch this short official (film) video:
https://archive.org/details/gov.dod.dimoc.26506

The Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Morgan

Also, a story from Larry Milbury's Canav Books blog that adds some 'colour' and background: https://canavbooks.wordpress.com/201...ruary-26-1942/

I hope you enjoy this trip down the internet "rabbit hole" as much as I did :wink:

Wow 2 hours fighting with the pilot and plane. Pretty lucky he made it.

Wow! What an incredible story.

This is the incident referred to at the beginning of "12 O'Clock High" with Gregory Peck, made 1949, the one where the B-17 plows through the tents on the side of the runway, landing wheels-up. The fictional character that was awarded the MOH in the film was a young LT named "Jesse."

Great story. I immediately had the same thought about "Twelve O'clock High" and had no idea that part of the movie had this account as its source. That movie has always been in my top five best.

Great story. Thanks for sharing. Just amazing that he survivied the flight and completed the mission. The details of the other crew casualties are pretty harrowing, and I can't help but feel sorry for them all. This makes it an even more amazing feat for Lt. Col. Morgan, dealing with all of this and the mission itself first hand.