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                                                                  H.R. No. 139



R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, For exceptional achievement in the field of 
aviation, John C. "Red" Morgan is being inducted into the 
Distinguished Flying Corps Hall of Fame by the Texas Aviation 
Historical Society on May 31, 2004; and
	WHEREAS, In spite of Mr. Morgan's strapping six-foot, 
two-inch frame and 210 pounds, his pre-World War II draft board in 
Texas rejected him for service because of an earlier accident in 
which he had broken his neck; undaunted by the board's assessment, 
Mr. Morgan joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in mid-1940 
and later, as a member of the RCAF, flew bombers for the Royal Air 
Force of the United Kingdom; in May 1943, he transferred to the U.S. 
Army Air Forces as a flight officer and was assigned to the 326th 
Squadron, 92nd Bomb Group, based at Alconbury, England; and
	WHEREAS, On July 18, 1943, Second Lieutenant Morgan assumed 
copilot duties on a B-17 bomber that lifted off as part of a large 
formation bound for Hanover, Germany; before reaching the Dutch 
coast, the formation was intercepted by Luftwaffe fighters and 
Lieutenant Morgan's plane was shelled; the German fire took out the 
plane's intercom, rendered the tail, waist, and ball-turret gunners 
unconscious, and caught the pilot, First Lieutenant Robert 
Campbell, in the head; and
	WHEREAS, Mortally injured, the burly pilot fell forward, 
locking his arms around the control column; Lieutenant Morgan had 
to wrest away control of the aircraft quickly, for the Luftwaffe 
would have had an easy target in any plane that fell out of 
formation; rather than remove the pilot's oxygen mask, an act that 
would have proved fatal at that altitude, Lieutenant Morgan managed 
to pull the pilot off the column with one arm while he maneuvered 
the plane back into formation with his other; and
	WHEREAS, Lieutenant Morgan continued to keep his plane in 
formation for the next two hours, all the while fighting to restrain 
the irrational pilot, who fought desperately to regain the 
controls; during that period the B-17 was shelled again and the top 
turret gunner severely wounded; Lieutenant Morgan received 
assistance only after the formation reached its target, when the 
navigator was at last able to go to the cockpit to investigate the 
cause of the plane's erratic flight; and
	WHEREAS, For his heroic action on that day, Lieutenant Morgan 
received the Medal of Honor, this nation's highest decoration for 
valor; he volunteered for several more missions and was 
subsequently shot down during the first raid on Berlin, on March 6, 
1944; and
	WHEREAS, After spending 14 months as a POW, Lieutenant Morgan 
regained his freedom at the end of the war in Europe; he was 
recalled to the service during the Korean War and retired 
completely from the military in 1954; and
	WHEREAS, In addition to the Medal of Honor, this courageous 
pilot was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal 
with one oak leaf cluster; and
	WHEREAS, John Morgan joined Texaco in 1938 and returned to 
the company each time he was released from military duty; he retired 
as division manager of the International Aviation Sales Department 
after 39 years' service with the corporation; Mr. Morgan died in 
Nebraska in 1991 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery; and
	WHEREAS, It is altogether fitting that Mr. Morgan be 
recognized for his extraordinary accomplishment in completing his 
mission and bringing his crew back safely on that brutal July day 
and that a chronicle of his valor be preserved at the English Field 
Air & Space Museum for this and future generations; now, therefore, 
be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 78th Texas 
Legislature, 4th Called Session, hereby pay special tribute to the 
memory of John C. "Red" Morgan on the occasion of his induction into 
the Distinguished Flying Corps Hall of Fame by the Texas Aviation 
Historical Society; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 
prepared for Mr. Morgan's family as an expression of high regard by 
the Texas House of Representatives.

                                                                        Swinford
                                                                          Chisum
                                                                         Smithee

                                                  ______________________________
                                                       Speaker of the House     

	I certify that H.R. No. 139 was adopted by the House on May 
17, 2004, by a non-record vote.

                                                  ______________________________
                                                     Chief Clerk of the House