John Willoughby
reporter2@greenepublishing.com
On Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2020, a fourth Madison County resident will officially be inducted into the Florida Veteran's Hall of Fame. That resident being U.S. Navy Captain (retired) Morris Steen, who was nominated by Major (retired) John Haynes, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in World War II, Vietnam and Korea.
Steen was among 40 candidates who were nominated, and was chosen to be among the 20 to be inducted in the 2020 class. Steen will join Maj. Haynes, the late Bernard Wilson and the late Dale Leslie in the Hall of Fame. "I'm honored to be included in that group," said Steen. "There are more deserving people to be in there than me."
"If you look at his record, very, very few people compare," said Maj. Haynes, citing two tours in Vietnam and over 700 missions flown. "If you look at the record of Capt. Steen, he, without a doubt, probably had the finest record. His military record is just impressive."
Native to the Moseley Hall community, Capt. Steen grew up with one foot in Taylor County, as he recalls. A graduate of Taylor County High School in 1959, Steen went on to earn a Bachelor's degree in Agriculture, majoring in Economics, from the University of Florida in 1965. That same year, Capt. Steen signed up to take part in a 14-week Aviation Officer Candidate Program in Pensacola, Fla. After commissioning, he took part in Navy flight training, a 12-week program, also in Pensacola. He received the designated of a naval aviator.
Capt. Steen saw two deployments to Vietnam, where he flew a commendable 721 missions. In the fall of 1979, Capt. Steen led Navy advance elements on a highly classified mission to the Indian Ocean/North Arabia Sea on a 10-hour notice, in response to the Iranian hostage crisis.
Later, Capt. Steen served as the executive officer and air office of USS Inchon (LPH-12), an assault aircraft carrier with 2,300 sailors and marines. While aboard, Capt. Steen made three major deployments to Europe, followed by a $46 million ship overhaul he supervised.
Other notable assignments for Capt. Steen include his service in the United States Pentagon from 1986 to 1996, and as the commanding officer of Naval Air Station Mayport, in Jacksonville, Fla., from 1990 to 1992.
Over the course of his 27-year Naval career, Capt. Steen accumulated over 3,700 pilot hours in 25 different aircraft models, including single-engine, multi-engine, rotary win and jet-type aircraft. Capt. Steen's military decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Meritorious Service medals, 43 Strike/Flight Air Medals, the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat "V," the Navy Achievement Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon and other campaign medals, ribbons and unit citations.
Capt. Steen later returned to Madison County and became president of North Florida College in 2001, where, under his leadership, NFC formed the Public Safety Academy and a new science building, increasing the campus by 70 percent. Although he retired from the NFC presidential position in 2008, the Steen family continues to contribute to the college and their students through the Morris and Judy Steen Scholarship for financially-needy students served by NFC.
Capt. Steen also remains active in many civic groups, including the Madison Rotary Club, and is a current member of the Florida 4-H Foundation. Capt. Steen recently led a fundraising campaign that contributed to the 4-H Camp Cherry Lake Pavilion renovation.
Steen and his wife, Judy, reside on the Shady Grove farm on which he grew up. Together they have three adult children and eight grandchildren.
Details regarding the Florida Veterans Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be forthcoming.