On July 26, 1943, 2LT John C. Morgan was a B-17 co-pilot during a bombing raid above Hanover, Germany.
The B-17 was attacked by numerous fighters, where cannon fire smashed the cockpit’s windshield, destroyed the oxygen system, interphone and splitting open the skull of the pilot. Morgan managed to regain control of the aircraft and with the majority of the crew passed out from lack of oxygen, he decided to stay in formation and complete the mission. At the same time, the pilot, delirious from his open head wound, tried to violently wrestle the controls away from Morgan, knocking some of his teeth out in the process.
For two hours, Morgan continued to fly the stricken aircraft with one hand while fighting off the bleeding pilot with the other. The navigator managed to regain consciousness, entered the cockpit and assisted Morgan in securing the pilot.
The bomber successfully reached the target at Hanover, where it unloaded its bomb bays. After a gruelling return flight, Morgan landed his aircraft at RAF Foulsham, England, saving the lives of his crew. The B-17 had sustained so much damage that it was beyond repair and never flew again.
A few months later, Morgan received the Medal of Honor and was ordered to not fly any further combat missions. But Morgan volunteered for several more missions, including the first Berlin raid of March 6, 1944. On that day, he was blown out of the plane. As he dropped 20,000 feet out of the flak-filled sky, he frantically worked to snap the chute onto his chest harness. Finally, at approximately 400 to 500 feet above the ground, it was snapped on, and the chute was opened. John had unintentionally accomplished what newspaper accounts later called "one of the most spectacular free falls in history."
He was eventually captured; making him the only person to become a POW after being awarded the Medal of Honor. He survived the war and his exploits were portrayed in the novel and movie Twelve O’Clock High.
"There's no such thing as a hero. I was pushed into circumstances where I was forced to act. You can never say how you're going to react to something until it happens, most people would have done the same.” #stayzero