World War II Medal of Honor Recipient. He received the award form Lieutenant General Ira C. Eaker at Widewing, England on December 18, 1943 for his actions as a sergeant pilot with the 326th Bombardment Squadron, 92nd Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force, US Army Air Corps, on July 28, 1943, on a bombing mission over Kiel, Germany. After graduating form high school in 1931, he attended several colleges but dropped out to work on a pineapple plantation in the Fiji Islands. He returned to the US in 1938 and worked on an oil rig. He tried to enlist in the US Army Air Corps but was turned down due to his poor academic record. In August 1941 he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and following his flight training, he was sent to England where he transferred to the US Army Air Corps. On that day, while on his fifth U.S. mission as co-pilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber aircraft to a target over Hanover, Germany, his courage and fortitude that he displayed would win him the Medal of Honor. In November 1943 he was promoted to the rank of 2nd lieutenant and while on his 26th bombing mission, he was shot down and taken prisoner, and was the only US military member to become a prisoner of war after being awarded the Medal of Honor. Following the war, he worked for the TEXACO Corporation. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, he volunteered for combat duty but was denied and flew military cargo aircraft in the US. He was discharged from the US Air Force in 1953 at the rank of lieutenant colonel. He died from complications of Alzheimer's disease and a stroke at the age of 76. His character was used in the 1948 novel "Twelve O'Clock High" as well as the 1949 film adaptation by the same name. His Medal of Honor citation reads: "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 B-17 airplane in which 2d 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. Second 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 arms 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, 2d Lt. Morgan made his decision to continue the flight and protect any members of the crew who might still be in the ship and for two 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 2d Lt. Morgan on this occasion resulted in the successful completion of a vital bombing mission and the safe return of his airplane and crew."