Everyday Patriot

Lieutenant Colonel John Carey "Red" Morgan was born in Vernon, Texas, on August 24, 1917. After graduating from a local military school in 1931, he briefly attended several colleges, including the University of Texas, before leaving school entirely and moving to Fiji. Lieutenant Colonel John Morgan supervised a pineapple plantation until 1938, when he returned to Texas to work with Texaco at an oil drilling site. An industrial accident severely injured Lieutenant Colonel John Morgan, left him with a broken neck, rendered him unfit for military duty, and the US military refused his enlistment. Rather than give up, Lieutenant Colonel John Morgan decided, in August 1941, to enlist in Canada's Royal Air Force instead (he neglected to mention his medical history). After training in Saskatchewan, he shipped off to England for World War II, where he quickly rose up the ranks, flying B-17 Bombers. Eventually, there was no question about his qualifications, and Lieutenant Co...

Staff Sergeant Donald Eugene Pipes was born on June 19, 1923, in Whitestown, Indiana. In January 1943, in response to World War II, he joined the US Army Air Force and was assigned to the 431st Bomber Squadron as a tail gunner and deployed to the Pacific. On July 28,1944, Staff Sergeant Donald Pipes, plane B-24 #42-73018 (I believe it was called Captain and the Kid), was spotted crashing in flames off of the island of Truk in the Philippines. Staff Sergeant Donald Eugene Pipes is memorialized on the Tablet of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial. * Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project here* **************************************** a.d. elliott is a wanderer, writer, and photographer currently living in Salem, Virginia.  In addition to the travel writings at  www.takethebackroads.com , you can also read her book reviews at  www.riteoffancy.com  and US military biographies at  www.everydaypatriot.com Her online photography ...

Private First Class Richard Norman Olbert was born on September 25, 1919, in Durango, Colorado. He enlisted in the US Marine Corps on January 8, 1942, in response to World War II, a mere month after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Assigned to Carson's Marine Raiders, Private First Class Richard Olbert deployed to the Pacific Theater. During the August 17-18, 1942, raid on Makin Island, Private First Class Richard Olbert, with nine other Marines, were stranded on the island and captured by enemy forces. Private First Class Richard Norman Olbert was executed on October 16, 1942.  He was never recovered and is memorialized on the Roll of the Missing in Honolulu, Hawaii. ( Sergeant Richard Allard , Private John Irwin Kerns , Private Alden Curtis Mattison,  and Corporal Joseph N. Gifford   were other US Marines captured that day) ( Sergeant Dallas Henry Cook was also a casualty of the raid) * Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project here* ***********...

Major Pauline Cushman was born Harriet Wood on June 10, 1833, in New Orleans, Louisiana. She grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, after her parents left New Orleans to start a trading post. While growing up in Michigan, Major Pauline Cushman learned to hunt, canoe, and track animals and was, by some reports, better at it than her brothers. Drawn to the call of the theater, she left for New York and adopted the name Major Pauline Cushman. After the death of her husband, a former theater musician who had enlisted in the US Army, from "camp fever" (probably malaria or typhus), Major Cushman left New York and established herself with a production of "The Seven Sisters" in Louisville Kentucky in 1862. A scene in the play required her character to give a toast, and she was approached by two Confederates to make the toast to Confederate President Jefferson Davies. She did (after consulting with the US Army) and was immediately fired from the production. However, the a...

Specialist Andy Alaniz was born on November 11, 1970, in Corpus Christi, Texas. A graduate of Moody High School, Specialist Alaniz was active in the school's drama club before he enlisted in the US Army shortly after his 1989 graduation. He deployed with the 24th Infantry to Saudia Arabia for Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield and the Gulf War just a few months after his wedding. On February 27, 1991, during the Battle of Phase Line Bullet, Specialist Andy Alaniz and his unit were wedged between enemy forces in front and a unit of US Army tanks behind them. Specialist Andy Alaniz was killed by the crossfire of the tanks. Specialist Andy Alaniz rests at Rose Hill Memorial Park in Corpus Christi, Texas. * Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project here* **************************************** a.d. elliott is a wanderer, writer, and photographer currently living in Salem, Virginia.  In addition to the travel writings at  www.takethebackroads.com , you can also r...

Staff Sergeant Yukio Kawamoto was born in Berkley, California, on November 13, 1919.  He attended the University of California at Berkeley until a couple of months before graduation, when he was enlisted into the US Army on February 25, 1942, in response to World War II. The son of Japanese immigrants, Staff Sergeant Kawamoto, was fluent in Japanese and after training, was assigned to military intelligence for the 37th Infantry Division and deployed to the Pacific Theater.  His parents were transferred to Utah's Topaz Mountain Internment camp for the duration of the war. During his deployment, Staff Sergeant Kawamoto's duties were code decryption and interpreter of documents and prisoners. In addition, his language skills helped direct necessary reinforcements to vulnerable areas on more than one occasion. He was discharged early to help his parents return home from the camps. Staff Sergeant Kawamoto remained in government service following the war, working as an inter...