On June 6, 1944, American troops arrived in Normandy to launch the largest amphibious military invasion in the history of the world and the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany. Many of the troops parachuted out of Douglas C47 Skytrains, leaping into the harrowing unknown from the cramped confines of the plane’s fuselage.
Islander Fred B. (Ted) Morgan Jr. was one of those men.
On Friday, a World War II-vintage C47 Skytrain flew over the Edgartown Golf Club during a ceremony dedicated to the heroic life of Mr. Morgan, who died this spring at the age of 97. The golf club held the ceremony to remember a man who was much more than a war hero, serving as a hospital administrator, grand marshal of the Edgartown parade, president of the Edgartown golf club for 22 years and an Edgartown selectmen for 30.
But the flyover was a truly special honor for a man who jumped out of a Skytrain 75 years ago as an Edgartown son — and lived to become an Edgartown father.
Fred Mascolo, who worked with Mr. Morgan as a member of the Edgartown planning board, organized the flyover with Mike Creato. Along with the C47 Skytrain, it also included a T-6 Texan to provide a smoke trail.
“Ted’s the one who got me interested in this work 30 years ago,” Mr. Mascolo said. “He’s a great guy. They don’t make them any better.”
After the planes circled over the golf club, friends and family of Mr. Morgan gathered as those who were closest with him made remarks about his remarkable life. But first, the earth rumbled once more and the blue skies of a gorgeous June afternoon were clouded yet again with a trail of jet smoke.
This was a ceremony for Ted Morgan, after all, the man who made over 20 jumps during World War II. A second flyover was necessary.
Mark Hess, who manages the facility, opened remarks by describing Mr. Morgan’s love of Edgartown and its eponymous golf club. He said during Mr. Morgan’s 22 years as president, he strove to make the club an inclusive, rather than exclusive space for year-round Islanders from all backgrounds and walks of life. Employees wore madras shirts in honor of Mr. Morgan, and Mr. Morgan’s son gave Mr. Hess a statue of a golfer snapping a club over his knee.
“He was very fond of Mark,” Ted Morgan 3rd said of his father. “And he loved this golf course — with the exception of the pond on number two.”
Mr. Hess and the club had something to give the Morgan family in return. After former club vice president Jack Mettler and attorney Ron Rappaport shared remarks, the club dedicated the flagpole and surrounding space to the memory of Ted Morgan. Mr. Morgan’s family and friends agreed that it was his favorite place.
“This spot will be eternal to Ted Morgan,” current club vice president Alfred Woollacott 3rd said.
Island veterans lowered the flag and folded it in the ceremonial fashion, gifting it to the Morgan family. With tears in her eyes, Mr. Morgan’s daughter returned the flag to Mr. Hess, requesting that he fly it on Mr. Morgan’s birthday every year.
“Of course,” Mr. Hess said.
The dedication honors Ted Morgan and reads: “May this flag always fly in your memory.”
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