Memorial

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S/Sgt Morton Stafford worked in a textile factory before he joined the Air Corps of the Regular Army in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 29 September 1943.

Three miles from the target, the bomber was badly damaged by enemy ground fire and set on fire. More than 230 anti-aircraft guns, supported by many barrage balloons, smoke pots and German fighter planes were in the area of the refineries.

Lt Col Addison E. Baker, the pilot and Maj. John L. Jerstad, the co-pilot, ignored the fact that they were flying above a field suitable for a forced landing. They kept on course. After the bombs were released on the target, they kept on trying to give the plane more altitude so the crew members could bail out, but the fire in the ship became so intense that it made further progress impossible. The airplane crashed into the target area, killing erverybody on board.

Lt Col Baker and Maj Jerstad were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for this action.

S/Sgt Morton O. Stafford is remembered at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania with a memorial marker.