Page 6 - Amarillo Senior Link Magazine Winter 2020- Online Magazine

Tom Morris Texas Legal Legend and
uch has been written
about one of Amarillo’s
Mfavorite sons, but his
100th birthday provides a perfect
opportunity to celebrate the life
of Tom Morris one more time.
He is a member of the Greatest
Generation, but he stands out as
a leader and a role model, even
among them. The accomplished
lawyer recently sat down and
answered questions about his
childhood, his successful career
and his WWII experience. The
perspective of anyone who
has completed ten decades is
worthwhile, but Mr. Morris’
exceptional life amplifies the
value of his viewpoint.
“I was born in Penelope, Texas,
November 12, 1919, the second of
six siblings born to James L. and
Alice (Jordan) Morris, and we all
grew up in Maypearl, 35 miles
southwest of Fort Worth.” Every
parent sees potential in their
child and dreams of greatness for
6 Amarillo Senior Link
Amarillo’s Exemplary
Centenarian
by Jane Bromley
them, but the Morrises
surely saw something
special in Tom. At
17, he was named
valedictorian of the
Maypearl High School
Class of 1937 and
attended North Texas
Agricultural College.
He graduated with
honors from the junior
college in May 1939 and
entered The University
of Texas Law School
in September. The
dean discouraged him
because he had only
two years of college,
“nevertheless, I entered
the Law School, making
top grades. I was Dean
Hildebrand’s Quizmaster (Ed.
Note: a role awarded to the
best students.) I was scheduled
to graduate in May 1942, but
. . . Dec. 7, 1941, everything
changed.”
He had already enlisted in
the Navy Air and received a
deferment, but after the attack,
the Navy directed him to report
for duty Jan. 2, 1942. “I passed
my solo (flying) test in April
and was sent to Pensacola to be
trained as a dive bomber. We had
about 75 hours in the “Yellow
Peril” biplanes . . . and completed
the training in the summer of
’42.” He went on to train in the
Vultee Vibrator and the SNJ. “I
got my wings in November and
was sent immediately to Opalaca
to complete training for aircraft
carriers,” then to Jacksonville,
Florida in December. “That
is where my mid-air collision
occurred.”
“We were doing practice dive-
bombing runs; I was ‘tail-end
Charlie’. As the eighth plane and
my plane were making turns, we
collided. He bailed out, . . . but
I tried to land my plane. I came
up short and plowed into some
pine trees. My plane was totally
destroyed, but I was rescued.
I had multiple fractures and
spent six months in the Navy
Hospital.” After his release, the
young pilot did a brief refresher
course before being sent to
Wildwood, NJ in December 1943
to join a squadron which was
going aboard the new carrier, the
USS Ticonderoga. They headed
for the Pacific by way of the
Panama Canal in April 1944 and
proceeded to Pearl Harbor in
Hawaii. “About that time, the
Japanese were losing control
of the skies and converted to
kamikaze tactics. By October, it
was one continuous battle in the
Philippine Sea, the Philippines,
the South China Sea, Formosa,
and the Inner Japanese Sea.”
“In January 1945, two kamikaze
bombers struck the Ticonderoga.
We lost over 300 personnel, and
the ship was temporarily out
of commission. However, we
were able to make it to Ulithi
(an atoll in the Caroline Islands)
for temporary repairs and back
to the U.S. for overhaul. The
Ticonderoga returned for the
battles of Okinawa in the summer
of 1945. Air Group 80 was newly
organized with four squadrons:
36 F10 Bearcat Fighters, 36 F4U4
Corsair Fighter Bombers, 36 SB2C
Dive-Bombers and 18 Gruman
Torpedo Planes.”