A native-born Santa Cruz airman was unable to wear his wings.

Francis Edward Morgan III was born in Santa Cruz, California, on March 8, 1923, to Dr. and Mrs. F. E. Morgan II, a prominent local dentist. The Morgan family also included a daughter and another son. Early in his life his father moved the family to Los Angeles to begin a new practice. After attending Los Angeles elementary and high schools, Francis III enrolled in San Jose State College about 1942.

Morgan left San Jose State College in early 1943 to enter the Army Air Corps cadet program. He completed his initial training in Santa Ana, California, and was then transferred to an Army Air Force facility in King City, California, for additional training.

On September 6, 1943, before Cadet Francis Edward Morgan's commissioning and the issuance of his wings, he was flying a PT-22 training aircraft at King City, when it collided with another aircraft and crashed. Morgan was killed in the crash. Following a funeral, his remains were buried in the San Francisco National Cemetery at the Presidio of San Francisco.

(USDVA; AAIR; SCSn September 9, 1943 1:1)