BROADCASTS.com

CMSGT Morrell rode along on bomber missions over Europe as a combat cameraman in order to document them. He was called upon several times to replace gunners after they had been killed, and was shot down three times during his service.\n\n\u2013\n\nDoug Morrell joined the Army Air Corps two years before World War Two as a combat cameraman. He completed glider pilot training, and was sent to the University of Southern California for a year to study film and photography.\xa0\n\nOnce the war started, Morrell accompanied crews on various missions all over Europe and Africa. It was his job to document the mission with film or photos so that the operation\u2019s execution could be evaluated afterwards. He almost exclusively flew on bomber missions, and was called upon several times to replace gunners mid-fight after they had been killed. As a result, he was provided with the gunner\u2019s wings despite never going to gunnery school.\n\nOn one mission, Morrell\u2019s aircraft was shot down over the \u201cIron Gates\u201d of Romania. As a navigator was bailing Morrell and a gunner out, he made a mistake that sent them miles away from where the rest of the crew landed. The two of them spent twenty-six days evading capture and walking across the mountains of modern day Kosovo and northern Albania. Eventually they reached the Adriatic Sea, where they paid a fisherman to take them to Italy where they could meet up with allied forces.\n\nMorrell was later shot down in Romania again, but this time he was captured by German forces. He was kept in a prison camp for four and a half months before being rescued by the Russians. After that, he was sent back to the States.\xa0\n\nThese two incredible stories earned him the nickname \u201cThe Legend,\u201d, but his adventures were far from over. He was redeployed to Europe during the Cold War, spent five years in Panama documenting civic actions, and served in Korea and Vietnam.\xa0\n\nIn Vietnam, Morrell would be shot down for a third and final time, where he shattered a bone in his ankle on landfall. He landed in hostile territory, and radioed for help. Nine hours and one firefight later, Morrell was air evaced to safety. You can learn more about this story here.\xa0\n\nAfter being shot down over enemy lines for the third time and escaping, Chief Master Sergeant Doug Morrell truly cemented himself as \u201cThe Legend. He was later awarded the Combat Camera Lifetime Achievement Award and the AIr Force Outstanding Civilian Career Service Award.\xa0\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices