Edwin Morgan dies at 78 By CRYSTAL CARREON BEE STAFF WRITER (Published: Monday, February 14, 2000) Edwin Isaac Morgan was a hard-working farmer and family man who, for years, battled against his demons, his only daughter said Sunday. He was a gentle man, changed by World War II. Decades after the war, he would sob at photographs of fellow soldiers -- young men who perished after their B-17 was shot down over the German countryside. Her father, she said, was one of only two men who survived that mission in 1944. He died Feb. 3 at Doctors Medical Center. He was 78. Mr. Morgan was born May 6, 1921, in Wayne County, Tenn., but spent most of his teen-age years farming his uncle's land in Madera. In 1943, Mr. Morgan joined the Army Air Corps and was stationed in Scotland. Then 22, he flew missions over Germany as a waist gunner in a B-17. Mr. Morgan wasn't even supposed to be on the plane the day it was shot down, but someone was ill, so he took over. Shrapnel wedged into Mr. Morgan's abdomen and legs, but he managed to parachute from the plane and land in enemy territory. "And as he came down in the countryside, he saw the people come out of their farmhouses," his daughter, Sharon Morgan Chandler, 51, said, recalling her father's story. "It was one of the strangest feelings he ever had." German farmers held Morgan at bay with their pitchforks until soldiers arrived. Mr. Morgan was taken to Stalag 17. At the camp, Mr. Morgan learned how to gamble, an obsession that would last the rest of his life, his daughter said. Mr. Morgan returned to California a decorated war veteran, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and a Purple Heart. Weeks after his return home, Mr. Morgan married his high school sweetheart, Shirley Lee Goode of Madera. Chandler, the middle child, said she and her brothers grew up among alfalfa fields, cattle and rows of fresh vegetables. "Wherever we lived, we always had a vegetable garden," she said. Mr. Morgan went to work as a foreman for Marathon Paper, a division of American Can Co. in 1958. While still working for American Can, he began a card room business in Delhi with his wife, who made and served Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter dinners for the gamblers. Later, the Morgan home became a "marked house" -- a place where people could go to get a free meal, Chandler said. "The strangest people would come to our door, and my dad would never turn anyone away," she said. "He would offer them a bed in the garage, three meals and work to do. ... My mom and my dad could never stand to see a hungry person." Mr. Morgan became owner of Scotty's card room in Turlock during the 1970s and later managed several card rooms in the Modesto area and Manteca. "The men at the poker games know my dad better than any of us," Chandler joked. "Today, at one of the clubs, they were talking about my daddy and said he never did an unkind, selfish or dishonest thing to any person, ever." Mr. Morgan was a member of the Sportsmen's Club in Modesto. In addition to his daughter, he is survived by his son, Bradley Wade Morgan of Modesto; and three grandchildren and one great-grandchild. A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Living Faith Community Church in Modesto. Allen Mortuary, Turlock, in charge of arrangements. A military burial is planned for April in Madera. Remembrances may be made to Living Faith Community Church, 4825 Roselle Ave., Modesto 95355.