Historical Marker

Cmdr. D. W. "Mush" Morton, USN

Historical marker location:

Nortonville, Kentucky

( 199 S. Main St., Nortonville)

This World War II hero spent his early youth and attended elementary school in Nortonville; high school at Madisonville. Graduated from U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., 1930. Became Commanding Officer of the submarine, Wahoo. Morton received his first award of the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism during action against enemy forces in the Pacific area.

Reverse

Wahoo - The Wahoo, with "Mush" Morton as its Commanding Officer, sank 31,890 tons of Japanese shipping. Wahoo left Pearl Harbor Sept. 9, 1943, headed for Sea of Japan but was lost through enemy action. Morton was awarded 4 Navy Crosses and the Army Distinguished Service Cross; his submarine won the Presidential Unit Citation for outstanding performance in combat.