Posted on Jun 26, 2015
Welcome Home, Tech Sergeant Edwin Morgan. Your War Is Over.
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The town of Salisbury, North Carolina welcomed home Technical Sergeant Edwin Everton Morgan after 49 years. Morgan was the loadmaster of an AC-47D gunship aircraft that failed to return from a mission in March, 1966. From WBTV;
Morgan enlisted in the Navy in June of 1945 when he was 17 years old and served until June of 1949. Morgan served in the Army from 1949 to 1955. While in the Army, he served in Germany and France.
In 1955 Morgan reenlisted in the Air Force. While in the Air Force, Edwin was stationed in Bermuda, Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City, Okla. and Joint Base in Charleston, S.C., before leaving for Tan Son Nhut AB in the Republic of Vietnam at the end of January 1966. Morgan remained at Tan Son Nhut until he was reported as MIA on March 13, 1966. Morgan was awarded the Purple Heart, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal posthumously.
From Task Force Omega;
On 9 March 1966, Capt. Howard W. Henninger, pilot; Capt. Robert E Pasekoff, co-pilot; Capt. Gerald E. Olson, navigator; then TSgt. Edwin E. Morgan, loadmaster; SSgt. Gene E. Davis, flight mechanic; SSgt. Marshall I. Pauley, aerial gunner and Sgt. Dean A Duvall, aerial gunner; comprised the crew of an AC47D gunship, call sign “Spooky 73.” They departed DaNang Airfield at 0300 hours on an armed reconnaissance mission along Route 92 that ran through the dense jungle covered mountains of Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam.
The mission was scheduled to last 3 hours. Weather conditions were good. It was a moonlit night with scattered to broken clouds, smoke and haze. Approximately 22 minutes after Spooky 73 took off, Capt. Henninger established radio contact with a standard communications check. At that time there was no indication of any trouble with the aircraft.
When Spooky 73 failed to return to base as scheduled, a ramp check of all bases that the AC47D could have diverted to was made. At 0800 hours the aircraft was declared overdue and initial search and rescue (SAR) operations initiated. At 0740 hours on 14 March 1966, full SAR operations using 2 AIE and 1 HE16B aircraft combed the dense jungle covered mountains along Route 92 and their briefed flight path of Spooky 73. This search effort was terminated at 1430 hours with no findings or sightings of the missing aircraft or its crew observed.
The last known location of Capt. Henninger’s aircraft and crew placed them over rugged mountains covered in triple canopy jungle. At that time Spooky 73 was on a heading of 250 degrees; approximately 9 miles south of the South Vietnamese/Lao border, 33 miles southeast of Kham Duc and 58 miles west-southwest of DaNang, Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam.
A service will be held tomorrow for the returning airman who has promoted to Chief Master Sergeant since he was lost.
Morgan enlisted in the Navy in June of 1945 when he was 17 years old and served until June of 1949. Morgan served in the Army from 1949 to 1955. While in the Army, he served in Germany and France.
In 1955 Morgan reenlisted in the Air Force. While in the Air Force, Edwin was stationed in Bermuda, Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City, Okla. and Joint Base in Charleston, S.C., before leaving for Tan Son Nhut AB in the Republic of Vietnam at the end of January 1966. Morgan remained at Tan Son Nhut until he was reported as MIA on March 13, 1966. Morgan was awarded the Purple Heart, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal posthumously.
From Task Force Omega;
On 9 March 1966, Capt. Howard W. Henninger, pilot; Capt. Robert E Pasekoff, co-pilot; Capt. Gerald E. Olson, navigator; then TSgt. Edwin E. Morgan, loadmaster; SSgt. Gene E. Davis, flight mechanic; SSgt. Marshall I. Pauley, aerial gunner and Sgt. Dean A Duvall, aerial gunner; comprised the crew of an AC47D gunship, call sign “Spooky 73.” They departed DaNang Airfield at 0300 hours on an armed reconnaissance mission along Route 92 that ran through the dense jungle covered mountains of Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam.
The mission was scheduled to last 3 hours. Weather conditions were good. It was a moonlit night with scattered to broken clouds, smoke and haze. Approximately 22 minutes after Spooky 73 took off, Capt. Henninger established radio contact with a standard communications check. At that time there was no indication of any trouble with the aircraft.
When Spooky 73 failed to return to base as scheduled, a ramp check of all bases that the AC47D could have diverted to was made. At 0800 hours the aircraft was declared overdue and initial search and rescue (SAR) operations initiated. At 0740 hours on 14 March 1966, full SAR operations using 2 AIE and 1 HE16B aircraft combed the dense jungle covered mountains along Route 92 and their briefed flight path of Spooky 73. This search effort was terminated at 1430 hours with no findings or sightings of the missing aircraft or its crew observed.
The last known location of Capt. Henninger’s aircraft and crew placed them over rugged mountains covered in triple canopy jungle. At that time Spooky 73 was on a heading of 250 degrees; approximately 9 miles south of the South Vietnamese/Lao border, 33 miles southeast of Kham Duc and 58 miles west-southwest of DaNang, Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam.
A service will be held tomorrow for the returning airman who has promoted to Chief Master Sergeant since he was lost.
POW/MIA
Vietnam War
Air Force
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 5
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The remains of more than 85,000 men and women in uniform fro WWII, The Korean War, The Cold War and the Vietnam War have not been recovered.
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SGT (Join to see)
LTC Ed Ross, Sir, three of the problems are that in the Korean and Vietnam wars, the POW's were sent to three or four other countries, and when there is a find, the POW/MIA recovery teams have to get permission to, not only be on their property, but get permission to dig. The bracelet of the man I have on has been turned away at least twice. Finally, last year, the recovery team was allowed to look for him. They found him and his crews remains and are now being processed in Hawaii. The other wall of sorts is that it's been so long since all three wars were fought. When the slogan "You Are Not Forgotten ", came out, it is true.
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LTC Ed Ross
Keith, good points. I will only disagree with you on one point. I was the deputy as assistant secretary of defense for POW/MIA Affairs from 1992-1993. While American POWs in the Korean War likely were sent to China and The Soviet Union. There is no credible evidence any ever war during the Vietnam War. The North Vietnamese were't puppets of the SU Or China like North Korea Was. Also there was a tendency after Korea for USG officials to want to put the POW/MIA issue behind them. Beginning in 1980 the Reagan administration made Vietnam POWs and MIAs a priority. Also the Senate Select Committee For POW/MIA Affairs conducted an exhaustive investigation reviewing every classified document that existed on the issue. If I thought any Vietnam War era POWS or MIAs went yo the SU or China or any other country, I'd say so.
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CSM Charles Hayden
SGT Keith Bodine, Bataan Death March survivors were sent to Manchuria/N Korea per MSG Jack Johnson a former neighbor of mine. He told me of how the POWs sabotaged installation of heavy machinery in a factory. They somehow managed to lower machinery into wet concrete.
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Welcome home Tsgt Morgan, may you rest in peace. Much respect to your family and friends as they celebrate your return and honor your service.
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