Gaylord Morse

UT Track:  1963-1966; Hurdler & Sprinter (330 & 440 Intermediate Hurdles, Mile Relay); SEC Champion — Indoor Mile Relay (1965); SEC Place Winner — Outdoor 330 Yard Intermediate Hurdles (2nd in 1964 & 1965); Outdoor 440 Yard Intermediate Hurdles (4th in 1966); Placed first in the 300 Meter Dash and the Mile Relay and set a Canadian indoor record for the 300 Meter Dash at the International Meet of Champions in Winnipeg Canada (1965); Won the 330 Yard Intermediate Hurdles at the Florida Relays (1965); Member of winning Mile Relay team (1965) and Hurdle Shuttle Relay team (1966) at the VMI Winter Relays.
Military Service:  USAF; Feb 1967 – Aug 1987; Lieutenant Colonel
MOS, Duties, Duty Stations:   36 Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS), Yokota Air Base (AB), Japan, F4C Weapon System Officer (WSO); 36 TFS, Kunsan AB, Korea, F4D WSO; Osan AB, Korea, F4D WSO; 451 Flying Training Squadron (323 Flying Training Wing (FTW)), Mather AFB, CA, Undergraduate Navigator Training Instructor/Chief Wing Scheduling; 3345 Air Base Group (ABG), Chanute AFB IL, Chief Consolidated Base Personnel Office; 86 TFW, Ramstein AB, Germany, Chief Functional Check Flight Program/ Chief Quality Assurance Division, DMQ, F4D/E; 323 FTW, Mather AFB, CA, Chief, Instructor Training School; Armed Forces Staff College, Student; Usredcom J3-OP, MacDill AFB, FL, Chief Command and Control Section.
Medals, Ribbons, Badges:  Defense Meritorious Service Medal; Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with 1 bronze oak leaf cluster; Air Force Commendation Medal; Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Air Force Overseas Short Term Medal; Air Force Overseas Long Term Ribbon; Air Force Longevity Service Award with 4 Bronze Oakleaf Clusters; Small Arms Expert Marksman Ribbon; Air Force Training Ribbon; Master Navigator Badge

Coach Rohe took a chance on me and gave me the opportunity to attend and graduate from college and pursue a career as an Air Force Officer. I was a low hurdler in high school when the NCAA discontinued the low hurdles. I wasn’t a great quarter miler in high school, yet Coach Rohe recruited me as an intermediate hurdler. I arrived at Tennessee as the 15th best freshman quarter miler. The hard work in track gave me the stamina to succeed in the Air Force, and the academics (including a year in Law School) gave me the academic skills I needed.

Comments from Gayl Morse:  Coach Rohe took a chance on me and gave me the opportunity to attend and graduate from college and pursue a career as an Air Force Officer. I was a low hurdler in high school when the NCAA discontinued the low hurdles. I wasn’t a great quarter miler in high school, yet Coach Rohe recruited me as an intermediate hurdler. I arrived at Tennessee as the 15th best freshman quarter miler. The hard work in track gave me the stamina to succeed in the Air Force, and the academics (including a year in Law School) gave me the academic skills I needed. Learning how to constantly redirect my goals helped me overcome the many obstacles in a military career. Although I didn’t fly combat in Viet Nam, I spent parts of three years defending South Korea after the Pueblo and EC121 incidents and a tour in Germany during the Cold War.