Avenue of Heroes: Robert R. Morton

Prepared by: Melanie Morton (daughter)

Captain Robert Ryan Morton was born in 1931 during the Great Depression in a farming town in Minnesota. He was the first in his family to attend college. After graduating from high school, his coach helped him secure a football scholarship, allowing him to attend the University of Colorado at Boulder and join the NROTC program. Upon graduation in 1954, he was commissioned as a Navy ensign and attended flight school in Pensacola, Florida, where he also played football for the Navy’s Goshawks, the base team. He was designated a naval aviator on January 20, 1956, and completed advanced flight training at NAS Beeville, Texas.

“Mort,” as he was known, joined his first squadron, VA-126, at NAS Miramar, flying the F-7U Cutlass. He later transitioned to the F-4 Phantom in subsequent squadrons, VF-121 and VF-142. From 1968 to 1971, he fulfilled his dream of commanding a fighter squadron, first as executive officer and then as commanding officer of the Silver Kings (VF-92). His leadership skills were again recognized when he served as commanding officer of NAS Meridian from 1978 to 1981, which he considered his dream assignment. The self-proclaimed “World’s Greatest Fighter Pilot” loved flying and continued to dream about it long after his retirement from a 27-year career in 1981.

Though he preferred flying, some of his assignments involved staff positions at North Island, CINCPAC Fleet in Hawaii, and the Pentagon. He also attended the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

His least favorite assignments were the Vietnam-era deployments on multiple carriers, which took him away from his wife, Wanda, and daughters, Melanie and Lisa. Even long after retiring, he vividly remembered those night carrier landings.

After leaving the Navy, he managed the common use area of Coronado Shores until 1993. He died in his Coronado home after a brave battle with cancer, surrounded by his family, in June 2001. His oldest grandson, Robert, flies for United Airlines, while his youngest grandson, Thomas, was commissioned as an Army engineer. Thomas’ commanding officer once advised him, “Quit acting like a pilot; you aren’t one!” Mort would have been proud. Their grandpa would have given them both an “attaboy.”

The Avenue of Heroes military service recognition program is sponsored by the City of Coronado. Introduced in 2014, the program has honored 277 hometown heroes to date. On November 2, 2024, another 16 were honored. City staff and volunteers from the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2422, the Coronado Historical Association and Third and Fourth  Streets Neighborhood Association oversee its operation.

In 2011, the program was inspired spontaneously with the movement of two Navy SEALs to their final resting place. News spread quickly and the local Rotary Club passed out American flags. People lined Fourth Street to honor the fallen service members. As the procession approached the Coronado Bridge, a lone Navy SEAL stood at attention, saluting as he waited for the passage of his comrades. That moment made clear that Third and Fourth streets were already an Avenue of Heroes.

That spontaneous beginning launched the program in May 2015 with 18 banners. The Avenue of Heroes is a reminder that Coronado has a rich history and legacy of service to the country.