John K. Morgan, Killed In Gulf War

A funeral Mass for John K. Morgan, the Army helicopter pilot from Bellevue killed Feb. 27 during Operation Desert Storm, is scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. at St. Anne Catholic Church, 1411 First Ave. W. in Seattle.

Mr. Morgan, 28, and eight others died when their helicopter was shot down on the day the cease-fire was declared. Among those aboard was Army Sgt. Lee Belas, 22, of Port Orchard, Kitsap County.

Mr. Morgan, an Army warrant officer,was doing his second stint in the military. After graduating from Interlake High School in Bellevue in 1981, he served three years as an electrician's mate in the Navy.

After working for a year as an account representative for investment firms in New York and Atlanta, Mr. Morgan joined the Army and received his wings in December 1989. After troops were deployed last summer, Mr. Morgan began learning Arabic. He was sent to the Persian Gulf theater in January.

On March 7, the Legislature honored the two men with a resolution that read: ``Sgt. Belas and Warrant Officer Morgan will be remembered as two of the American servicemen and women who gave their lives to uphold international law and the right of self-determination for all sovereign nations on Earth.''

Mr. Morgan is survived by his mother, Shirley Lansing, and his stepfather, Glenn Lansing, both of Bellevue; his father, Don Morgan, and his step-mother, Beth Morgan, both of California; by two sisters, Catherine Morgan of Bellevue and Elizabeth Thomas of Seattle; and by a nephew and a niece.

After Saturday's service, burial will be at Sunset Hills Memorial Park in Bellevue.