RAPID CITY, S.D. – A decorated World War II veteran from South Dakota celebrated his 101st birthday with a special honor at the Ellsworth Air Force Base near Rapid City.
Maurice “Morry” Crow (1943)
A new exhibit about Maurice “Morry” Crow’s extraordinary military service was unveiled at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum on base Wednesday, Crow’s birthday. Crow enlisted in the Army Air Force following the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Crow completed 30 harrowing missions in Norway and Germany as a B-17 aerial gunner with the Army Air Forces’ 332nd Bomb Squadron, 8th Air Force, in World War II. While 10 of the 21 planes in his squadron didn’t return, he and his crew survived to become part of the “Lucky Bastard Club,” as they were humorously anointed.
The B-17 Flying Fortress “Idiot’s Delight,” with the 332nd Bomb Squadron, completes its 50th successful mission, a raid on Berlin, March 22, 1944. (Courtesy of American Air Museum in Britain, americanairmuseum.com)
He flew 30 missions with the 332nd and received a Purple Heart, a Distinguished Flying Cross, and a Presidential Commendation.
Despite being wounded in combat and facing tall odds against the Nazi-German Luftwaffe, Crow not only survived but was credited with an aerial victory against an attacking fighter.
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