Morton Ogden Stafford Jr ★ World War II Gold Star Veteran from Pennsylvania
On August 1, 1943 Staff Sergeant Stafford was declared a casualty of World War II. ★ He served with honor in the United States Army Air Forces. ★ He is remembered by the people of Pennsylvania. ★ May his positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.
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Click to Submit Update Request for this Fallen Service Member▼ Content Integrity Note
Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of Morton Ogden Stafford Jr is a work in progress. We've assembled a list of elements we are in the process of researching and reviewing. This profile was last edited on 2021-04-05 01:57:25.
Missing : Core Data
· Enlistment type· Date of tour or service
Missing : Supplemental Data
· Birth + childhood location· Marriage history
· Expanded references and citations
Service Details
| This Profile ID | 326249 |
| Service ID | 13029264 |
| Name | Morton Ogden Stafford Jr |
| From | Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania |
| Birth Date | March 29, 1919 |
| Casualty Date | August 1, 1943 |
| War | World War II |
| Service Branch | Army Air Forces |
| Rank | Staff Sergeant |
| Specialty | Gunner |
| Unit/Group | 328th Bomber Squadron, 93rd Bomber Group, Heavy |
| Casualty Type | Killed in Action |
| Location | Ploesti, Romania |
| Burial | Plot C, Row 24, Grave 14, American War Cemetery Ardennes |
| Notable Awards |
★ Distinguished Flying Cross
★ Air Medal
★ Purple Heart |
| Remembered | 
Morton Ogden Stafford Jr is buried or memorialized at Plot C, Row 24, Grave 14, American War Cemetery Ardennes. This is an American Battle Monuments Commission location. |
Additional Details
Morton Stafford was the son of Morton O Stafford Sr and Ethel Scherer. He joined the US Air Corps on September 29, 1943 from Philadelphia. His family was also associated with Bala Cynwyd, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He had graduated from high school and worked in a textile factory before he joined the service.His father Morton Stafford Sr had died in 1942. His sister Helen Stafford would go on to become a renowned plant biologist and eventually create a one million dollar scholarship fund in honor of Morton Stafford Jr. On August 1, 1943 he was on the crew of the B-24 Liberator #42-40994 "Hell's Wench" during a mission to bomb the oil refinery at Ploesti, Romania. Three miles from the target, their bomber was badly damaged by enemy ground fire and set on fire. Despite the challenges, they succeeded in releasing their bombs on the target. They continued to try and give the plane more altitude so the crew members could bail out, but the fire in the ship became so intense that it made further progress impossible. They crashed into the target area, killing everyone on board. We identified 10 casualties in our archive related to the #42-40994 incident on August 1, 1943.
◼Morton O Stafford Jr :: Gunner
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Commendations + Awards
Please note this might not be a complete or completely accurate accounting. For some awards we use probability factors based on known service details. Thanks for your understanding.
★ Distinguished Flying Cross
★ Air Medal
★ Purple Heart
★ World War II Victory Medal
★ American Campaign Medal
★ Army Presidential Unit Citation
★ Army Good Conduct Medal
★ European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign
Notable Reference Sources
These are typically links to pages on external sites that have provided specific nodes of information. In most cases the information has some assurance of being crowd-sourced and vetted by a community of users.Pennsylvania Gold Star Veterans Gallery
Honoring the men and women of Pennsylvania who gave their all for their country. May their example of courage and sacrifice be our guide. To be strong and responsible in our lives as citizens of the world. Through honest daily actions, we honor them.
▼ Pennsylvania was home to over 44,106 American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
• 8,386 World War I
• 30,148 World War II
• 2,414 Korean War
• 3,158 Vietnam War
• 462 Prisoners of war
• 6,358 Missing in action
• 76 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 528 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 36 Medal of Honor recipients
• 30,148 World War II
• 2,414 Korean War
• 3,158 Vietnam War
• 462 Prisoners of war
• 6,358 Missing in action
• 76 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 528 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 36 Medal of Honor recipients
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Honor States Admin
▼ Primary Sources - These are repositories for artifacts, documents, diaries, manuscripts, and other information that serve as original and authoritative sources of information.
National Archives (NARA)
Library of Congress (LOC)
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
Findagrave.com
Ancestry.com
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USS Midway Museum 75th Pearl Harbor Wall of Honor
Located at the harbor in downtown San Diego, California at Navy Pier. The USS Midway is a living, floating museum, housing an extensive collection of aircraft, many of which were built in Southern California. USS Midway saw active duty from 1945 to 1992. Approximately 200,000 sailors proudly served onboard. In 2016 the USS Midway hosted one of the premier events honoring the 75th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Among the featured memorials was a Wall of Honor with over 1000 images of the fallen. Researched by the Honor States Group.
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