World War II Honoree

Clifford Quincy Morton

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Roger Mills County, Oklahoma

Honored By

Sam E. Pennartz

ENLISTED IN THE ARMY AIR CORPS ON 5 OCTOBER 1943 AT LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. UNDERWENT B-29 AIRCRAFT OPERATIONAL TRAINING AT HARVARD ARMY AIRFIELD, NEBRASKA. DEPLOYED TO THE CENTRAL PACIFIC THEATRE OF OPERATIONS, AND WAS ASSIGNED TO 20TH AIR FORCE, XXI BOMBER COMMAND, 313TH BOMB WING, 505TH BOMBARDMENT GROUP (VERY HEAVY), 484TH BOMB SQUADRON STATIONED AT NORTH FIELD ON TINIAN IN THE MARIANA ISLANDS. ON 10 FEBRUARY 1945, HE FLEW AS THE RADAR OPERATOR ABOARD A BOEING B-29 SUPERFORTRESS NICKNAMED 'THE SASSY LASSY' (TAIL # 42-24843). IT WAS ONE OF 120 AIRCRAFT LAUNCHED IN A MULTI-WING GROUP FORMATION TO BOMBARD THE NAKAJIMA AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY PLANT AT OTA ON THE NORTHWEST SIDE OF TOKYO, JAPAN. THIS BOMBING MISSION # 29 INVOLVED FLYING 1,500 MILES TO GET TO JAPAN, MAKING THE BOMB RUN, AND THEN FLYING THE 1,500 MILES BACK TO TINIAN. IN ORDER TO INCREASE BOMB CARRYING CAPACITY, HIS B-29 AIRCRAFT FUEL LOAD WAS KEPT TO A MINIMUM. WHILE OVER THE TARGET AREA, THE GROUP WAS ATTACKED BY A BAND OF NAKAJIMA KI-44 SINGLE-ENGINE 'TOJO' FIGHTER PLANES. ON THE RETURN ROUTE HOME HIS BATTLE DAMAGED AIRCRAFT RAN LOW ON FUEL AND WAS FORCED TO DITCH NEAR PAGAN ISLAND APPROXIMATELY 320 KILOMETERS NORTH OF SAIPAN, AND HE DID NOT SURVIVE THE OCEAN CRASH LANDING.