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John Joseph "Jack" Morris

No. 1998217 April 1929 - 24 October 1994

 

Died in Clinton, NC

 

Interred in Clinton Cemetery, Clinton, NC


John Joseph “Jack” Morris was born in Boston on 17 Apr 1929. After his father died, his mother moved with him, at age seven, and his sisters into his grandmother’s home in East Boston. This was a large, extended Irish family that the depression years influenced. His grandmother headed the family, raising him and other grandchildren, while their parents worked “to make ends meet.” When World War II began, and all the men went to war, he was too young to go. He grew restless, quit school, and secretly followed the races at a track nearby. He loved horses and dreamed of becoming a famous jockey. His plan for escape included use of an alias—Earl McCullough. He took off and traveled throughout the country exercising horses.

 

His family searched anxiously, but he was not located until he returned home two years later after the government closed all race tracks as part of the national war effort. Jack said this was his lucky break, as he returned home and decided to go back to school. His mother had remarried and moved with his sisters to Valley Forge, PA, with his stepfather. He enrolled in Valley Forge Military Academy and set West Point as his goal. He excelled in school, graduating in June 1954.

 

 

This was prior to the establishment of the Air Force Academy, and many West Pointers were permitted to join the Air Force. He chose a career as a pilot and attended flight school at Stallings Air Field in Kinston, NC. During his six months of training there, he met Mary David McCullen, a young teacher. They were married and became lifelong companions.

 

Jack’s first assignment in the Air Force was flying B-47’s as a copilot in the 301st Bombardment Wing at Lockbourne AFB, Columbus, OH. This was part of the Strategic Air Command and an eleven-year assignment. Three children, two girls and a boy, were born there. They were bright and lively, sharing the hectic pleasure of the nomadic military life! These years were dominated by the Cold War with Russia, and world tensions dictated that the Air Force be prepared to respond at a moment’s notice in the event of an attack. The atomic bomb was here! Flight crews were on alert for weeks at a time.

 

The Space Race with Russia also was developing. The Air Force needed to meet the challenge, and qualified officers were chosen to pursue advanced engineering degrees at many universities throughout the U.S. Jack applied and was accepted at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He earned a double masters degree in mechanical and aeronautical engineering and was assigned to the Space Center at Cape Canaveral, FL, where pioneers in space travel made headlines around the world. Jack worked on the shuttle prototype with solid rocket propulsion, moving on to Georgia and California during the next three years.

 

The Viet Nam conflict was growing. In 1966 the Space Program was no longer top priority, and Jack was needed to fight the war. He trained and was assigned to a transport aircraft called the Caribou. It was designed to land on short runways and carry supplies to troops in jungles cleared by the use of Agent Orange. It was a terrible time. After a year he was fortunate to return home safely. It was an experience rarely mentioned but never forgotten.

 

Jack’s next assignment was at the Pentagon as a Research and Design officer for five years. He purchased a home in nearby Reston, VA, a lovely suburb. Horses were a big part of this

community and a large barn was available, so he purchased three horses for his children and joined the local polo club. This became a consuming hobby. Then he was reassigned to the Office of the President as staff assistant for five more years, for a total of ten years in the Capital area.

 

In 1973 he was assigned to Hanscom AFB in Bedford, MA, outside of Boston, his birthplace. Three years later, after 21 years of service, he retired as a lieutenant colonel to return to civilian life. He bought a home in Sudbury, MA, and resumed work as program manager in the Intelligence Network of GTE Sylvania in Needham, MA. Industry was booming and advancement in several companies was offered in the area. He joined RCA in Burlington as manager of Data Communications for several years. Later he accepted the position of Vice President of Command and Support Systems with Calspan, in Washington, DC. He was very active and traveled constantly. He returned to Boston briefly to join ARINC in 1987 to manage a division.

 

In 1990, at age 62, he decided to “really retire.” He loved the small country town of Clinton, NC, where he and his wife had married, and they moved there. He enjoyed the nice weather, great golf courses, and being only an hour from the ocean where he had a cruiser and there was good fishing. He was very happy with the relaxed living, but it was a short lived pleasure. Without warning, a cough and cold turned into lung cancer. It was advanced, but the doctors at Duke fought a year-long battle with him, and his condition was arrested briefly. It soon returned, however, and moved throughout his body quickly. Agent Orange from Viet Nam was a partial cause, and he was given 100% disability. For the first time in his life he had to accept sickness. Amazingly, he still found pleasure in his declining health.

 

He lived quietly at home for a year and reflected on his life. When told he had been lucky, he would respond, “I made my own luck! I had so much offered. I sometimes missed, but I had successes also.” He even took responsibility for his lung cancer, saying “I did this to myself.” (Yes, he smoked.) Certainly he had regrets, but he did not dwell on them. He made the most of his life and it was rarely dull. He pursued his dreams with a spontaneous style that was “fully Jack!”

 

—His family and classmates

 

Originally published in TAPS, January / February 2009

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