John C . Morgan John Cary " Red " Morgan ( August 24 , 1914 – January 17 , 1991 ) was a United States Army Air Forces pilot in World War II who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during a 1943 bombing run over Germany , which also inspired the character of 2nd Lieutenant Jesse Bishop in the novel and film " Twelve O ' Clock High " . Background . Born August 24 , 1914 , at Vernon , Texas , and the son of an attorney , Morgan graduated from a military school in 1931 and then attended several colleges , including Amarillo College , New Mexico Military Institute , NMMI , West Texas State Teachers College , and the University of Texas at Austin . While at Texas he learned to fly aircraft , and in 1934 dropped out of college . He worked in the Fiji Islands as a foreman on a pineapple plantation until 1938 , when he returned to enlist as an aviation cadet in the U . S . Army Air Corps . However because of his poor education record , he was refused enlistment . Working at an oil - drilling site for Texaco , Morgan suffered a broken neck in an industrial accident , and as a result was later classified 4 - F by the Selective Service System . Military service . In August , 1941 , Morgan joined the Royal Canadian Air Force , and after completion of flight training in Saskatchewan , Ontario , and RAF Church Lawford , England , was posted as a Sergeant Pilot with RAF Bomber Command . On March 23 , 1943 he was transferred to the U . S . Army Air Force as a Flight Officer and assigned to the 92nd Bomb Group ' s 326th Bomb Squadron , RAF Alconbury , England . Morgan , on his fifth mission , co - pilot of a crew flying the B - 17F 42 - 29802 to a target in Hanover , Germany , on July 28 , 1943 , when he participated in the mission for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor ( citation shown below in full ) , awarded December 18 , 1943 . Medal of Honor action . Morgan ' s experience began as his group formation neared the German coast . The B - 17 , nicknamed " Ruthie II " , was attacked by a large number of FW 190 fighters and had part of its oxygen system to the gunners ' positions in the rear of the aircraft knocked out . The first burst of fire also smashed the cockpit ' s windshield , damaged the interphone , and split open the skull of pilot Lt . Robert Campbell . The pilot ' s upper body slumped over his control wheel , causing it to start out of control . F / O Morgan seized the controls on his side and by sheer strength pulled the plane back into formation . The disabled pilot continued to try to wrest the controls away from Morgan and smashed at the co - pilot with his fists , knocking some teeth loose and blackening both his eyes . Meanwhile , the top turret gunner was also seriously injured when a 20 mm shell tore off his left arm at the shoulder . He fell out of the turret position , and was found by the navigator bleeding to death . The navigator bailed the gunner out of the aircraft in a successful effort to save his life . Unknown to Morgan , the waist , tail and radio gunners became unconscious from lack of oxygen and were threatened with death by anoxia . Morgan , unable to call for assistance because of the damaged interphone , had to decide whether to turn back immediately or try to fly all the way to the target and back within the protection of the formation . He also had to decide whether or not to subject Campbell to anoxia by cutting off his oxygen to disable him . In spite of wild efforts by the fatally wounded pilot to seize the controls , Morgan chose to complete the mission and not cut off his pilot ' s oxygen supply . For two hours he held position in the formation - flying with one hand , fighting off the pilot with the other . At length the navigator entered the flight deck and relieved the situation . The navigator and bombardier secured the dying pilot in the nose compartment of the airplane . F / O Morgan ' s B - 17 reached the target at Hanover and successfully dropped its bombs . With all his fuel gauges reading empty , Morgan landed the bomber at RAF Foulsham . Lt . Campbell died an hour and half later , and the five surviving gunners recovered from various degrees of frostbite . The B - 17 was declared damaged beyond economical repair and never flew again . Subsequent career . F / O Morgan transferred to the 482nd Bomb Group in October 1943 to fly B - 17 H2X radar aircraft and was promoted to second lieutenant in November . He remained on combat duty , flying in all 25½ missions . On March 6 , 1944 , Morgan was the pilot of a B - 17 leading the first major USAAF attack against Berlin when he was shot down and captured , held in Stalag Luft I , Barth , Germany , for the remainder of the war , the only person to become a POW after being awarded the Medal of Honor . In 1948 Sy Bartlett and Beirne Lay , Jr . published their novel " Twelve O ' Clock High " and used Morgan as a model for a primary character , Lt . Jesse Bishop . The wording of his actions appearing in his citation was used as dialogue in the script to describe the actions of Bishop under similar circumstances , and like Morgan , Bishop ' s character was awarded the Medal of Honor and later became a POW . The circumstances also became a featured part of the 1949 film adaptation . After the war , Morgan returned to work for Texaco in California selling aviation fuel , and during the Korean War , took a leave of absence . Called back to active duty from 1950 – 1953 , he applied for combat duty but the Air Force refused his request . He instead flew cargo planes in the United States for two years , spent his final active duty service in the office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force . He retired from the Air Force , a lieutenant colonel . Morgan is survived by his only child Sam Morgan , who himself was a military man all his life , Morgan also has 4 grandchildren which 3 are serving in the military and have all spent time in the gulf wars . Morgan died on January 17 , 1991 , of a heart attack and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery . When questioned of his valor and heroism , Morgan replied , " " 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 , but I think most people would have done the same . " " Medal of Honor citation . Citation : For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty , while participating on a bombing mission over enemy - occupied continental Europe , 28 ( " sic " ) July 1943 . Prior to reaching the German coast on the way to the target , the B17 aircraft in which 2d Lt . ( " sic " ) Morgan was serving as co - pilot was attacked by a large force of enemy fighters , during which the oxygen system to the tail , waist , and radio gun positions was knocked out . A frontal attack placed a cannon shell through the windshield , totally shattering it , and the pilot ' s skull was split open by a . 303 caliber shell , leaving him in a crazed condition . The pilot fell over the steering wheel , tightly clamping his arms around it . 2d Lt . Morgan at once grasped the controls from his side and , by sheer strength , pulled the aircraft back into formation despite the frantic struggles of the semiconscious pilot . The interphone had been destroyed , rendering it impossible to call for help . At this time the top turret gunner fell to the floor and down through the hatch with his arm shot off at the shoulder and a gaping wound in his side . The waist , tail , and radio gunners had lost consciousness from lack of oxygen and , hearing no fire from their guns , the copilot believed they had bailed out . The wounded pilot still offered desperate resistance in his crazed attempts to fly the aircraft . There remained the prospect of flying to and over the target and back to a friendly base wholly unassisted . In the face of this desperate situation , 2d Lt . Officer Morgan made his decision to continue the flight and protect any members of the crew who might still be in the ship and for 2 hours he flew in formation with one hand at the controls and the other holding off the struggling pilot before the navigator entered the steering compartment and relieved the situation . The miraculous and heroic performance of 2d Lt . Morgan on this occasion resulted in the successful completion of a vital bombing mission and the safe return of his aircraft and crew . References . http : / / www . airforce - magazine . com / MagazineArchive / Documents / 1984 / 0184valor . pdf