Morris (Mo) Charles Crossen was born 21 March 1916 in Columbus, Ohio.  He was the son of Ezra Dean and Elizabeth Crossen, and he had a sister named Corrine. Mo grew up in Canton, Ohio, and the family lived at 510 10 St. NW. He graduated from the McKinley High School in 1933, where he was a member of the Dramatic Club.  He played volleyball, and was on the varsity swimming team.  He entered Ohio State University in 1934 and was in the ROTC program.  He graduated with a Bachelors in Business Administration and was Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1938. He entered flying school in 1939.  During his senior year at Ohio State, he met his wife.  She was a freshman, and, during his training, he apparently would fly over the university to let her know he was thinking about her.  They had two daughters together:  Stacey and Nancy. 

Mo received his Silver Wings on 23 March 1940 and became a fighter pilot. He rose through the ranks and by May of 1944 he was a Lieutenant Colonel and the Deputy Commander of the 367th Fighter Group. He was not an officer who liked to stay behind a desk, and often led his squadron on missions.  He was credited with bringing down two German fighters.

On 20 October 1944, Mo was leading his squadron on a dive bombing mission near Cologne in Germany.  While attacking a German fighter aircraft, his P-38 was hit by anti-aircraft fire and the right engine burst into flames.

Information provided by Luc Vandersterren, the McKinleyite (High School Yearbook) of 1934, the  Record of the Proceedings of the Board of Trustees of the Ohio State University 1939, Camille Balboa in the book America’s Soldiers: Teens Tales of Tribute, and MACR 9646.