Morris Abeyounis was born December 5, 1923, the son of Berry George and Bessie Adele Abeyounis of Belhaven. He graduated from Greenville High School and then attended ECTC before enlisting at age 18, on December 8, 1942, one day after the first anniversary of Pearl Harbor, in the U. S. Army Air Forces at Fort Bragg, N.C. By March of 1943, Abeyounis was studying with the Army Air Forces Technical Training Command at Lowry Field, Colorado and soon rose to the rank of staff sergeant.
Abeyounis was reported missing in action on September 28, 1943, at sea, off the coast of Somerset, England. At ECTC, he was among those honored on campus with the Service Flag. The latter included a Gold Star for those who had died in service, and a Blue Star for those missing in action. The ECTC Service Flag was prominently displayed in the Old Austin Building “as a constant reminder that there is no higher ideal than is expressed in the college motto: ‘To Serve.’ “On January 20, 1945, the Teco Echo reported that “Staff Sgt. Morris Lee Abeyounis, waist gunner in the Army Air Corps, who was reported missing in … 1943, has been officially declared dead by the War Department.”
Abeyounis is remembered in Greenwood Cemetery in Greenville, and on the Tablets of the Missing at the East Coast Memorial in Battery Park, New York City. Though Morris’ time at ECTC and in the Armed Forces was brief, his life evidenced, as the Teco Echo noted in reference to the Service Flag that honored him twice, as missing in action and then fallen, the college motto of service.
Sources
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“Alumni News: Record On The Service Flag.” Teco Echo. May 20, 1944. P. 4. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/37939
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“At Colorado Field.” News and Observer. March 23, 1943. P. 5.
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“ECTC Pays Honor To Its War Dead: Memorial Service Held at Greenville for Alumni Killed in Present War.” News and Observer. May 18, 1945. P. 10.
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Goggin, Jean. “With The Armed Forces.” Teco Echo. January 20, 1945. P. 2. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/37947
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“Gold Star Alumni.” Teco Echo. May 19, 1945. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/37955
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“In Memoriam: Cornwell Speaker For Dedication Ceremonies Of Memorial Health and Physical Ed Building.” East Carolinian. January 9, 1953. P. 1. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/38311
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Kittrell, Bill. “547 Greenwood.” Pitt County North Carolina Cemeteries. https://cemeterycensus.com/nc/pitt/cem547.htm
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McInnis, Sarah. “Memorial Service Held To Honor War Dead.” Teco Echo. May 26, 1944. P. 1. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/37940
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“Morris L. Abeyounis.” American Battle Monuments Commission. https://abmc.gov/decedent-search/abeyounis=morris
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“Morris L. Abeyounis.” HonorStates.org. https://www.honorstates.org/index.php?id=78671
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“S SG Morris L. Abeyounis.” The National Gold Star Registry. https://goldstarfamilyregistry.com/heroes/Morris-Abeyounis-231631
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“Those Killed In The Armed Services.” Tecoan. 1945. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/15350
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United States, Selective Service System. Selective Service Registration Cards, World War II: Fourth Registration. Records of the Selective Service System, Record Group Number 147. National Archives and Records Administration.
Citation Information
Title: Morris Lee Abeyounis
Author: John A. Tucker, PhD
Date of Publication: 5/5/2022