From Staff Reports 

A memorial monument to Col. Robert K. Morgan, an Asheville native son, was dedicated and unveiled Aug. 14 between City Hall and the County Courthouse in downtown Asheville.

The ceremony, attended by family and dozens of well-wishers, was held on the 71st anniversary of Morgan’s historic war bond sales tour fly-by, during which he and his crew of the B-17 bomber “Memphis Belle” tipped their left wing 60 degrees between the two structures.

The 30 minute ceremony included brief presentations by Morgan’s daughter, friends, Brig. Gen. Jerome Jones — and an invocation by the Rev. Spencer Hardaway. Other participants included design architect Danie Johnson and Committee Chair Steve Duncan. Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer proclaimed the occasion as “Col. Robert Knight Morgan Day.”

 Morgan and his crew of the Memphis Belle remain notable for flying the first B-17 to complete 25 combat missions over Europe at a time of catastrophic bomber casualties. “That was just a beginning for this gentleman,” Dr. Carl Mumpower, one the event organizers and speakers, noted.

“Ten years following his death, we are pleased to be able to honor his service and model — as well as those of his crew, fellow servicemen from WWII, and the people of that time most familiarly known as the ‘Greatest Generation.’”

During the dedication, there was a thundering sound re-enactment of the flyby.

Stephen Duncan, who worked with Morgan prior to the latter’s death, said that Morgan’s stunt raised the ire of a military officer workingin City Hall, who complained to the Pentagon. Apparently the complaint was ignored, as Morgan, rapidly becoming a national hero, had been sent back to the United States to raise funds for the war effort.

Asheville City Council approved the placement of the moment in 2005, but it took a private group time to evaluate different designs for it.

At first the group considered some elaborate sculpture, but later agreed on a simpler granite momument with an etching of a painting of Morgan’s bomber flying between the buildings.

The monument fit Morgan, Duncan said, noting that he was modest about his wartime achievement and “would never have allowed something like this while he was still alive.”