ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 85136
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| Date: | Saturday 17 November 1951 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Republic F-84E Thunderjet |
| Owner/operator: | 111th FBS, 136th FBW, Texas ANG, USAF |
| Registration: | 49-2403 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Sinanju, South Pyongan Province -
 North Korea
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | K-2 Taeugu Airfield, Daegu, South Korea (RKTN) |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
Republic F-84E-15-RE Thunderjet, 49-2403, 111th FBS, 136th FBW, Texas ANG (Air National Guard), USAF: Written off (destroyed) November 17 1951 when lost on combat operations over North Korea. On rail cutting interdiction mission, hit by AAA while strafing locomotive and box cars on track, exploded upon contact with water, no egress noted. Pilot 1st Lt John Morse Jr, USAF posted as MIA/KIA
According to the following biography of the pilot:
"First Lieutenant Morse was the pilot of a F-84E Thunderjet fighter with the 111th Fighter Bomber Squadron, 136th Fighter Bomber Wing. On 17 November 1951, his aircraft received a direct hit by anti-aircraft fire, crashed into the water and exploded. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.
For his leadership and valor, First Lieutenant Morse was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal."
The pilot was posthumously awarded (on June 13 1952) the D.S.C (Distinguished Service Cross). The citation for this award reads as follows:
"Distinguished Service Cross
AWARDED FOR ACTIONS
DURING Korean War
Service: Air Force
Battalion: 111th Fighter-Bomber Squadron
GENERAL ORDERS:
General Headquarters Far East Command: General Orders No. 45 (June 13, 1952)
CITATION:
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Air Force) (Posthumously) to First Lieutenant John Morse, Jr. (ASN: AO-946946), United States Air Force, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving as Pilot with the 111th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 136th Fighter-Bomber Group, in action against enemy forces near Sinanju, Korea on 17 November 1951.
As flight leader of four F-84 aircraft, Lieutenant Morse was briefed to find and destroy two locomotives north of Sinanju. Due to restricted visibility in the area, he ordered his flight to orbit at a safe altitude while he reconnoitered the area at low level. Exposing himself to intense ground fire, he sighted the two locomotives and made a successful skip-bombing attack, destroying one and damaging the other. Although his aircraft sustained direct hits on his first pass, Lieutenant Morse returned to attack the damaged locomotive in the face of intense and accurate ground fire from heavy and automatic weapons. Through Lieutenant Morse's superior airmanship and aggressiveness, this highly important and hazardous mission was successfully completed. Through his extraordinary heroism, courage and unselfish devotion to duty, First Lieutenant Morse reflected great credit upon himself, the Far East Air Forces and the United States Air Force."
Sources:
1. http://forgottenjets.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/F-84.html
2. https://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1949.html
3. https://www.aviationarchaeology.com/dbSearchAF55.asp
4. https://www.militaryhallofhonor.com/honoree-record.php?id=219191
5. https://www.koreanwar.org/dpaa/korwald-all.pdf
6. https://m.facebook.com/1stLtJohnMorse/photos/a.281500631970655/1866026086851427/?type=3&_rdr
7. https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/7310
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Air_National_Guard#History
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinanju
Revision history:
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