Col. Bob Morgan gravely injured...

Colonel Bob Morgan, pilot of the famed "Memphis Belle" -- the most famous
B-17 Flying Fortress of World War II -- is currently in the hospital
following a bad accident. At his age injuries of any kind can be life
threatening, but in this particular case Bob actually broke his neck in a
bad fall at the Asheville Airport on April 22nd.

He was in ICU for nine days when he stopped breathing, so they had to put in
a tracheotomy tube. He's now been in the hospital for 19 days, and had
surgery this past Saturday to fuse the C1/2 vertebra, where the break in his
neck occurred.

According to his wife, Linda, Bob is now in fair condition, but may not
survive.

We had the privilege of spending some time with Bob and Linda at Sun N Fun,
and were impressed with their warmth and generosity. They were both
gracious and charming, and have donated a lot of artwork and memorabilia to
us, both for the inn (and "their" Memphis Belle Suite) and for our kids.

Please keep Bob in your thoughts and prayers -- they don't make too many
like him anymore. When I get the particulars on what hospital he's at, I'll
post the details here.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:K5Qnc.65324$kh4.3882362@attbi_s52...
Colonel Bob Morgan, pilot of the famed "Memphis Belle" -- the most famous
B-17 Flying Fortress of World War II -- is currently in the hospital
following a bad accident. At his age injuries of any kind can be life
threatening, but in this particular case Bob actually broke his neck in a
bad fall at the Asheville Airport on April 22nd.

He was in ICU for nine days when he stopped breathing, so they had to put
in
a tracheotomy tube. He's now been in the hospital for 19 days, and had
surgery this past Saturday to fuse the C1/2 vertebra, where the break in
his
neck occurred.

According to his wife, Linda, Bob is now in fair condition, but may not
survive.

We had the privilege of spending some time with Bob and Linda at Sun N
Fun,
and were impressed with their warmth and generosity. They were both
gracious and charming, and have donated a lot of artwork and memorabilia
to
us, both for the inn (and "their" Memphis Belle Suite) and for our kids.

Please keep Bob in your thoughts and prayers -- they don't make too many
like him anymore. When I get the particulars on what hospital he's at,
I'll
post the details here.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"


Jay, he's in hospital here in Asheville, NC.
http://cgi.citizen-times.com/cgi-bin/story/54430

And, yes, he's a national treasure. Last time I heard him give a talk, he
told about doing a knife-edge with the Belle between the city building and
the courthouse in downtown Asheville, a tight little bit of space. He
said some federal grunt working in the city building turned him in, but the
grand reception around the country for the Colonel and his crew was so warm
everyone overlooked the horseplay.

In article K5Qnc.65324$kh4.3882362@attbi_s52,
"Jay Honeck" wrote:

Colonel Bob Morgan, pilot of the famed "Memphis Belle" -- the most famous
B-17 Flying Fortress of World War II -- is currently in the hospital
following a bad accident. At his age injuries of any kind can be life
threatening, but in this particular case Bob actually broke his neck in a
bad fall at the Asheville Airport on April 22nd.

There is a tad more information he http://www.memphis-belle.com/

Very sad to hear this. I met him while my wife and I were crewing on
the Nine O Nine. I hope to be as sharp as him at 80+ years of age.

--
Dale L. Falk

There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing
as simply messing around with airplanes.

http://home.gci.net/~sncdfalk/flying.html

I had the pleasure of meeting Col. Morgan at Sun N Fun this year. A true
gentleman. I'm sorry to hear of his accident and hope he recovers soon.

Dave

In article K5Qnc.65324$kh4.3882362@attbi_s52, Jay Honeck says...

Colonel Bob Morgan, pilot of the famed "Memphis Belle" -- the most famous
B-17 Flying Fortress of World War II -- is currently in the hospital
following a bad accident. At his age injuries of any kind can be life
threatening, but in this particular case Bob actually broke his neck in a
bad fall at the Asheville Airport on April 22nd.

Wow, sorry to hear that I spent about 10 mins with him at SnF this year and he
was gracious enough to sign my books and have a picture taken with him.I really
didn't get to know him except through his book and a couple of comments he made
while we chatted bur he seemed like a real down to earth guy. I wish him well.

Chuck S

Jay Honeck wrote:

When I get the particulars on what hospital he's at, I'll
post the details here.

Please post or send an address for cards.

George Patterson
If you don't tell lies, you never have to remember what you said.

Col. Morgan is in Room E-364, Mission Hospital, 509 Biltmore Ave.,
Asheville, NC 28801. You can inquire about his condition by calling
Mission Hospital at 828/213-1050.

Thanks for the update.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

" jls" wrote in message
...
Col. Morgan is in Room E-364, Mission Hospital, 509 Biltmore Ave.,
Asheville, NC 28801. You can inquire about his condition by calling
Mission Hospital at 828/213-1050.

As a person who would recieve such well intentioned calls (in general,
as a health professional)...

I would respectfully ask that you NOT call the hospital and inquire.
Send cards, send letters... but the vast majority of health care
personnel are not going to release anything further than "stable" or
"fair" (and sometimes not even that) to a casual caller. What it WILL do
is take the staff away from the patients, including Col Morgan. The
staff have enough to do as it is. I have dealt with "well loved"
individuals as patients before, and its very difficult to have to take a
flurry of phone calls from people I LEGALLY cant give any real
information to, while Im trying to balance care for all of the patients
I am responsible for.

I'm sure Mrs Morgan would appreciate you not trying to get passed on in
to the room, unless you already have a personal relationship with them
already. She has enough to deal with as it is.

Dave, RN, Paramedic.

jls wrote:
Col. Morgan is in Room E-364, Mission Hospital, 509 Biltmore Ave.,
Asheville, NC 28801. You can inquire about his condition by calling
Mission Hospital at 828/213-1050.

Sorry to hear about this. WBE was set up next to the "Legends of Flight" tent
in Stuart, FL last year, and I had a chance to hear Col. Morgan speak several
times over the weekend. He and his crew also gave us and our ship some very
good plugs during the show. I was looking forward to hearing him speak again
in Nov. at Celebrate Freedom. Rosemary and I will be praying that he has a
full and speedy recovery.

Harry Frey
Wright Brothers Enterprises
Covington, GA