Posted on 12/02/2008 8:08:45 AM PST by Borges
The Doors star Jim Morrison's father has died, aged 89.
Rear Admiral George Morrison died of natural causes on 17 November.
A veteran of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Morrison was largely disowned by his rock star son, who insisted his parents were dead in early interviews.
The feeling was mutual - the seaman rarely discussed his son as he rose up the ranks.
In 1990, Morrison visited his son's grave in Paris, France and had a plaque installed.
Shortly after the Morrisons moved to Coronado, California in 2002, the admiral's wife died, and reports suggest he has been in declining health ever since.
Rear Admiral Morrison's private memorial service was held last Wednesday at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, California.
Wasn’t the song “The End” about him?
My project manager’s name is Jim Morrison. The headline threw me for a minute.
His father commanded an aircraft carrier when Jim was doing his ‘lizard king’ thing.
I believe Adm Morrison’s nickname was “Blackjack”, he was a prominent figure in Dick Marcinko’s books.
Rock and Roll PING
That’s odd, I’ve worked with Jimmy Hendrix at my job.
Love the Doors. Sorry to see that his dad passed away.
The Morrison estate has been owned by Jim’s wife’s family for decades. Odd that his own parents don’t get a claim but that is how law works.
Tina Turner and Tanya Harding work in my office.
From Wiki
George Stephen Morrison (born January 7, 1919 in Rome, Georgia died, November 17, 2008 Coronado, California), was the youngest admiral in the United States Navy until 1964 (when Elmo Russell Zumwalt, Jr., became the youngest naval officer ever promoted to Rear admiral at age 44) [1], and was the father of The Doors’ late lead singer Jim Morrison.
Also known as Steve, he was born in Georgia to Caroline and Paul Raymund Morrison.[2] Morrison was raised in Leesburg, Florida and entered the U.S. Naval Academy in 1938. Upon graduating in February 1941, he was commissioned an ensign in the US Navy and was sent to Pearl Harbor Hawaii to serve aboard the mine-layer USS Pruitt [3]. Aboard his ship, Morrison witnessed the attack of December 7, 1941, from across the harbor [4]. In 1943 he was sent for flight training in Pensacola, Florida, from which he graduated in the Spring of 1944. Morrison was then sent to serve in the Pacific Theater for the duration of World War II.[5]
Morrison flew combat missions during the last year of World War II and again during the Korean War [6].
During his lengthy career, Morrison worked on secret nuclear projects at Los Alamos, NM and served as operations officer aboard the carrier Midway [7].
Morrison, from his flagship, the Essex-class carrier Bon Homme Richard, was in command of the local fleet during the Gulf of Tonkin Incident in 1964. He later became Commander, Naval Forces, in the Marianas in 1972.[8]
Morrison took command of the Bon Homme Richard on November 22, 1963. His first act as skipper was to announce the assassination of President John F. Kennedy [9].
After earning flag rank, Morrison weathered his son Jim’s very public rebellion, stardom and death while serving in high profile Navy posts in the Pentagon and the Pacific. He never mentioned Jim publicly, but he found it strange to visit friends’ homes and see posters of his son on the bedroom walls of their teenage children. In 1990, Morrison and his wife traveled to Jim’s grave in Paris where Morrison installed a plaque he had crafted with an ambiguously worded Greek phrase that meant “true to his own genius” [10].
Some believe his Naval career may have been slowed by political undertones surrounding his analysis of the USS Liberty incident which occurred in 1967. Morrison opposed the official US Navy response to the attack, and proposed an immediate and swift economic and military response against Israel for the attack on an official US Navy ship. Morrison’s analysis and political motivation was at odds with the soft non-militaristic response ultimately taken by the US State Department and US Navy. Morrison asserted Israel intentionally attacked the USS Liberty, trying to disguise Israel torpedo boats as Syrian vessels in an attempt to provoke a war between the United States and Syria. This would have increased United States military and financial assistance during the Six Day War.
Rear Admiral Morrison was the keynote speaker at the decommissioning ceremony for Bon Homme Richard, his first ship as an admiral, on July 3, 1971 in Washington D.C., USA (just 12 hours after his son Jim Morrison’s death).
Jim Morrison has been dead for 37 years. He was 27 years old when he did on July 3rd, 1971. That was 37 years ago.
If he had lived to be as old as his dad, he would still have 25 years to go even today.
George Morrison wasn’t happy with his son, I gather. A father wants his son to live a decent life. He wants that for his son, because it’s generally how you live the happiest and the longest.
Jim lost out on as much as 62 years of his life. If his father showed up at the site where Jim was buried, and placed a marker there, then he thought of him and missed him.
Farewell George Morrison. Thanks for your service to our nation.
Barack Obama does my yard.
I went to Officer Training School with John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
I’ve also worked with John Kay.
If must have been heartbreaking for his parents to watch him shoot his life down the toilet from the barrel of a syringe.
Does the watering, does he?
Most interesting post. Thanks.
Dittos.
Many years ago I worked with a Glen Campbell. Really.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.