In Honor and Memory of ~ COMDR. DUDLEY W. "MUSH" MORTON U.S.N.~ Owensboro, Kentucky
N 37° 46.548 W 087° 06.743
16S E 490103 N 4180945
In Honor and Memory of ~ COMDR. DUDLEY W. "MUSH" MORTON U.S.N.~ Owensboro, Kentucky down by the riverfront.
Waymark Code: WM5Y2R
Location: Kentucky, United States
Date Posted: 02/28/2009
Views: 6
In Honor and Memory of
COMDR. DUDLEY W. "MUSH" MORTON U.S.N.
Born in Owensboro, KY. July 17, 1907, the son of William Dix and Bessie Rowe Morton. The family moved to Nortonville, KY. and later to Miami, FL. where he finished high school. He entered the U.S. Naval Academy in 1926. Upon graduating in 1930, he served briefly on the USS Saratoga before completing the submarine training school at New London, CT. in 1933. Morton received the nickname"MUSHMOUTH" later shortened to "MUSH" from his shipmates at the academy because he talked :like he had mouthful of mush," due to his Kentucky accent. Morton took command of the USS Wahoo on the last day of 1942. In his brief but brilliant career as it's captain, he is credited with sinking 28 enemy ships; the first submarine to enter an enemy harbor and sink a ship at anchor; the first to challeNge and sink an enemy destroyer head~on in a "down~the~throat" maneuver, and first to wipe out an entire convoy. For these exploits he received the Navy Cross with three Gold Stars in lieu of three more Navy Crosses plus the Army D.S.C. , Morton and the eighty men of the USS WAHOO went to the bottom of the sea in the La Pe`rouse Straits on October 11, 1943, the result of a Japanese aerial bomb.
"Morton Hall" was dedicated 5 May 1945 at the Navy Sub School in New London, CT.
The Destroyer "USS Morton" was commissioned in 1959.
List if there are any visiting hours:
It is out on the lawn of the American Legion.
Entrance fees (if it applies): It is out on the lawn of the American Legion.
Type of memorial: Other
Website pertaining to the memorial: Not listed
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