Taps Article
Written in parts by Jim Morgan, classmates Mike Daley and Joe Schwar, and his daughter, Marianne. Feb 20, 2017
James Bruce Morgan was born and
raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, the oldest of Austin and
Elizabeth Morgan’s six children. He graduated from
Purcell Marion High School with academic honors and a
well-decorated athletic career that included winning
the Ohio State HS Football Championship his senior
year. Attending West Point was Jim’s lifelong
ambition; however, he started his appointment process
too late to start immediately after high school. He attended
the University of Cincinnati for one year, where he
was a member of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity and ROTC.
Both played a large part in his cadet life after he
was appointed to West Point the following year.
Leadership, ability, imagination, and intelligence
were the hallmark of his cadet career. Plebe year presented few problems
for Jim, in large part due to his earlier ROTC
training and his natural easy going approach to any
situation. His fraternity experience led to his
becoming the social leader not only for his Company
I-2 classmates, but also virtually anyone he
encountered. He was undoubtedly the cause of
much chagrin within the tactical department. There
were few trips not marked with a Morgan soiree. Need
some under-the-radar West Point gift paraphernalia?
JBM was the man to see. Jim’s athletic ability made him the
go-to guy on company intramural teams as I-2 twice
dominated the Corps competition for the Banker’s
Trophy, a trophy awarded to the cadet company with the
best record in all sports during the course of a year.
His coaching ability helped the basketball team win
the brigade championship. Following graduation he attended
the Field and Air Defense Artillery Officers’ Course.
The course began at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma and ended at
Ft. Bliss, Texas. This was followed by Airborne,
Ranger, and Flight Schools. His was the first class to
have all their aviation training at Fort Rucker,
Alabama. Five subsequent generals came from that
class. This combination of training was matched by
only a few classmates and placed him among the most
highly trained soldiers in the Army. Succinctly, in
the army of that era, saying someone was “Airborne,
Ranger, Army Air” said it all. Jim’s performance as a pilot
resulted in his becoming a flight school instructor. His lifetime
love of aviation was obvious. At every opportunity
over the years, he wore a baseball-style cap,
originally white During his time at Fort Rucker he
met Peggy Tindol. They were married on 12/1/62, which
was the same day as the Army-Navy game that year. They had
three daughters: Deborah Morgan Sanders, Cynthia
Morgan Moss and Marianne Morgan Persico, and five
grandchildren. While Jim’s military career was
short, his dedication to West Point and the Military
was deep in his blood. The West Point motto Duty,
Honor, Country-truly defined who Jim was. It taught
him what he “ought to be” and paved the road for “who
he wanted to be and who he became.” Joining the Meade Paper Company
after leaving the Army, he eventually founded, with
Peggy, the P.T. Morgan Packaging Company and the P.T.
Morgan Paper Company, both of which flourished due to
the couple’s combined skill and leadership. While Jim and Peggy were successful
in their business ventures, they had to weather storms
and an ever-changing business climate. Perhaps the
biggest storm they faced was Peggy’s unsuccessful
battle against cancer, endured with the unflagging
spirit that was the hallmark of everything they did
together. With Jim by her side until the very end,
they kept family and business together. His West Point
and Army training aided Jim in such difficult times, as he knew failure was
never an option. If a door slammed in his face, he
moved on to the next door. He made cold calls until he
was 80, always
searching for the next new customer. A longtime
business consultant said upon his passing, “He didn’t
know how to quit.” Jim
continued to oversee the operation of both companies
until his death. Jim loved being around his friends
and classmates and tried to attend every Class of ‘58
reunion he could. Everyone who knew Jim knew that once
Labor Day rolled around, he would be found on the
50-yard line at West Point’s Michie Stadium cheering
on his beloved Black Knights. He had “The
Best” tailgate spot overlooking beautiful Lusk
Reservoir and was in his glory having old friends and
classmates stop by. His children are aware of his
missing only a handful of Army-Navy games since
graduation. To know Jim was to know that three
basic things mattered in his life: family, work
and West Point. Whether you called him Dad, Jim,
Jimmy, Daddy Jim, Uncle Jim or Mr. Morgan, you always
knew who you were going to get. As his daughter stated
so eloquently in her eulogy at his funeral, “While our
loss and pain is immense, we have such solace and
peace knowing that the true honor in his life was his
wife Peggy and they are together again.” Jim had a favorite saying used in
WW II to support the pilots and crews of the Army Air
Corps. Ground crews were known to say to pilots before
takeoff “Y’all Keep ‘Em Flyin.” Jim said it as
a goodbye to his family and friends. |