William Robert Clayton Morrison - Brigadier General, United States Army

William Robert Clayton Morrison of Washington, D.C. was born on 6 October 1904 and died on 5 September 1958. The General served in both World War I and World War II. He is buried in Section 30 of Arlington National Cemetery.

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I want to tell you a Christmas story that might seem straight out of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” In this story, Michael, you are the hero, the Angel.

Let me explain. It’s Christmas, 2003 and our family is saying goodbye to our son, Antoine, who is leaving shortly for Navy OCS in Pensacola. His life-long dream is to be a Naval Aviator.

His inspiration for this dream is due in large measure to the record and exploits of his grandfather, Brigadier General William R. C. Morrison. Since I lived around the world and spent years in post-war Phillipines and Japan, Antoine grew up listening to war stories, studying military history, and going to air shows.

In spite of numerous photos and other memorabilia of the General, Antoine could never find a record of where he was buried at Arlington, a record of an eternal resting place. I was at the General’s funeral on that day in 1958, but haven’t returned to Arlingtron since.

Then, the day before Christmas, Antoine entered William Robert Clayton Morrison into Google, as he had done a hundred times before, and what appeared on the screen frooze him to the chair. We heard a yell, a scream, come from the computer room. We ran in and saw a beautiful white marble headstone with the name Brigadier General William Robert Clayton Morrison.

We stood around that computer screen the rest of the day. We talked, and I reminisced about days long ago, above Pearl Harbor, or crawling through the caves of Corrigedor. On Christmas Day, we put the laptop under the Christmas tree so my dad could be a part of our Christmas and Antoine could feel the General by his side.

Antoine accepted this as a sign from his Grandfather that good things would happen. And they have. He survived brutal OCS training in spite of a damaged leg nerve (in great pain, he kept focused on the General’s headstone). He alone was picked over 50 other OCS graduates to be a naval aviator. He then vaulted over 300 other officers lined up to begin aviation training.

How did all this happen? Who was making this happen? We don’t have a clue. But, we suspect the General was behind the scenes, as always, directing the flow of things.

So you see, Michael, you were our Special Angel on that Christmas Day in 2003. You brought back the General to be with Antoine. And a beautiful photo of a white marble headstone in Arlington is a powerful reminder that his spirit is never gone.

We send you our profound gratitude.
Antoine Morrison F.

P.S. I will send you a short bio and other information.

MORRISON, WILLIAM ROBERT CLAYTON
BRIG GEN US ARMY

VETERAN SERVICE DATES: 03/22/1917 – 03/22/1955
DATE OF BIRTH: 10/06/1904
DATE OF DEATH: 09/05/1958
DATE OF INTERMENT: 09/09/1958
BURIED AT: SECTION 30 SITE 444-1

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

MORRISON, EVELYN FUNSETH

DATE OF BIRTH: 08/14/1906
DATE OF DEATH: 10/05/2000
DATE OF INTERMENT: 11/13/2000
BURIED AT: SECTION 30 SITE 444-1

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
WIFE OF MORRISON, WILLIAM ROBERT CLAYTON BRIG GEN US ARMY

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Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard

William Robert Clayton Morrison – Brigadier General, United States Army

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