PEARL HARBOR SURVIVOR'S RITES TODAY
From "The Tulsa World," Monday, April 11, 2005
Section A, Page 16
SAND SPRINGS -- Francis Joseph Morton, a former Tulsan who survived the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, died Friday. He was 82.
A graveside funeral service will begin at noon Monday, at Robbins Cemetery, in Coffeyville, Kan., under the direction of Freeman-Harris Funeral Home.
Morton was born May 14, 1922 in Hartsville, Mo., to Artie and George Morton.
After graduating from high school in 1939, he joined the Navy in 1940.
During the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harber, Morton was below deck in the USS Phoenix's engine room when he heard explosions outside.
When he went topside, Morton saw ships explode, sailors jump into the fiery water below, and what he believed to be enemy kamikaze pilots smile as they flew their planes into nearby ships.
The Phoenix quickly left the harbor and was one of only a few ships to escape the attack.
After being at sea for nearly three days without radio contact, the Phoenix returned to port, where Morton saw many American bodies collected onshore.
Morton went on to fight in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters, where he received a Victory Medal and ribbons for good conduct.
Upon his discharge, Morton went to mortuary school in St. Louis.
He became a funeral director in the late 1940s at Luginbuel Funeral Home in Vinita.
He married Faith (Fast) Kern in 1950. The couple later moved to Tulsa, where Morton began a career as a T.D. Williamson pipeline technician.
Morton retired in the mid-'80s as a general services manager.
He received a Pearl Harbor Congressional Medal from the state of Oklahoma in 1991.
After suffering a number of medical problems, Morton moved to Sand Springs in January to be cared for by his niece.
Morton was a volunteer for Meals on Wheels and Big Brothers & Sisters of Green Country, and he provided financial aid to college students.
He is survived by a cousin, Pat Wood of Mountain Grove, Mo.; his niece and caretaker, Dorothy Nightingale of Sand Springs, and other nieces and nephews.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Association and New Frontier Hospice.
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