02 April 1945 – 06 April 2016
Coastal Bend Veterans Cemetery,
Corpus Christi, TX
Posted: Wednesday, April 13, 2016 12:53 pm: The Rockport TX Pilot:
Michael Kitchens Morrow died April 6, 2016. He was born in Durant, Oklahoma, April 2, 1945 to Jesse Pete and Cathryn Jordan Kitchens. His father Jesse was killed on Iwo Jima before Mike was born and never saw his son. Cathryn remarried when Mike was six to Mel Morrow, whom she had known since high school. Mel was an Air Force officer, and the little family of three traveled to several bases in the USA, as well as one tour in Italy. Mike graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in Psychology and a commission as a First Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps in 1967. He married Kathryn Kay Black in Midwest City, Oklahoma in 1967, just before he headed to his first duty station at NAS Pensacola, Florida. He and Kathryn had been married for forty nine years at the time of his death.
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My father, Jesse Pete Kitchens, Jr, was a mustang 1stLt killed on Iwo Jima. His memory as told to me by my mother, grandparents, and other relatives was a guiding force for me. I sought a commission in the USMC in part because of him. My mother remarried when I was six, and my stepfather adopted me. I grew up as an Air Force brat.
After TBS I married Kathryn Kay Black at Tinker AFB, OK enroute to Pensacola, FL for flight training. Dave Raper and Terry Ranstead and his wife attended the wedding. At Milton, FL was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Through the Church I have gained a closer relationship with my Savior Jesus Christ than I ever imagined. I later served as a bishop of the Clear Lake 1st Ward in Houston and presently serve as branch president of the Rockport Branch.
After flight school transitioned into the CH-46 in HMM 261 at New River. Our son was born at Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital. He served a mission for our church in Alaska, became a flight nurse in the USAF and a trainer for US and foreign medical emergency personnel.
My WESPAC tour in HMM 165 was uneventful with 6 months aboard the USS Tripoli and 6 months in Okinawa. Back to New River and HMM 365. When the squadron was decommissioned I joined the HMA 269 activation cadre and then HMA 269, transitioning to the AH1J.
Our first daughter was born at Camp Lejeune as Hurricane Ginger approached. Kathryn spent the night in the hallway at the hospital because they had run out of rooms in the birthing unit. I took them home, and we rode out what became a moderate hurricane. My daughter is now a database administrator and proposal writer for a company that provides advanced technology to the military. In 1972-73 I was in HMM 263 on the USS Iwo Jima in the Mediterranean for 6 months. Transferred to the inactive reserve 30 September 1973.
Back in Oklahoma, we bought a small acreage and raised chickens, ducks, geese, ponies, and goats. My wife & I milked goats twice a day for years because we had 2 daughters who were lactose intolerant. Our second daughter was born in Midwest City, OK. She is a nurse working with handicapped children through the public school system.
I was the Hertz project manager for the construction of the Hertz Worldwide Reservation Center in Oklahoma City. Also did facility management for a Baker International company. Was the operations manager and division general manager for USPCI, an environmental company that performed Superfund and RCRA cleanups and hazardous waste services west of the Mississippi River. Third daughter was born in Midwest City. She served a mission for our church and is now the mother of 4 children of her own. 4th daughter was a Japanese exchange student who lived with us a school year. We moved to Longmont, CO when Union Pacific bought the company and relocated the division. In Colorado we hosted our 5th daughter, a German exchange student who grew up in East Germany.
For Brown & Root Services Corporation went to Macedonia to assist in expanding Camp Able Sentry and preparing smaller satellite areas as staging Army units for movement into Kosovo. Saw a Predator for the first time when the Air Force flew them out of Skopje International. Negotiated final payment and closed out more than 25 contracts including contracts with the United Nations, National Reconnaissance Office, NASA, and various DOD Agencies. Worked for Adm (ret.) Joe Lopez as Contract Manager for upgrades of security to US State Department embassies and consulates. Contracts Manager for the Restoration of Iraqi Oil Infrastructure in the Second Gulf War.
Although partially retired, I still do a little project management or contract administration when called on by people at my company.
Saltwater fishing is my primary interest.