Nortonville in Hopkins County, Kentucky — The American South (East South Central)

Cmdr. D. W. "Mush" Morton, USN / Wahoo

Cmdr. D. W. "Mush" Morton, USN Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, September 1, 2015

1. Cmdr. D. W. "Mush" Morton, USN Marker

Inscription.
Side 1
Cmdr. D. W. "Mush" Morton, USN This World War II hero spent his early youth & attended elementary school in Nortonville, high school in Madisonville. Graduated from U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., in 1930. Became commanding officer of the submarine, Wahoo. Morton received his first award of the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism during action against enemy forces in the Pacific.

Side 2
Wahoo The Wahoo, with "Mush" Morton as its commanding officer, sank 31,890 tons of Japanese shipping. Wahoo left Pearl Harbor Sept. 9, 1943, headed for Sea of Japan but was lost through enemy action. Morton was awarded four Navy Crosses and the Army Distinguished Service Cross; his submarine won the Presidential Unit Citation for outstanding performance in combat.

Erected 1977 by the Kentucky Historical Society Kentucky Department of Highways. (Marker Number 1612.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Education • Military • War, World II. In addition, it is included in the Distinguished Service Cross/Navy Cross/Air Force Cross Recipients, the Kentucky Historical Society,

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and the Lost at Sea series lists. A significant historical date for this entry is September 9, 1943.

Location. 37° 10.975′ N, 87° 27.385′ W. Marker is in Nortonville, Kentucky, in Hopkins County. It is at the intersection of South Main Street (Kentucky Route 2083) and Route 4002, on the right when traveling south on South Main Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 199 South Main Street, Nortonville KY 42442, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Tri-State Region

and in the Western Coal Field.

It is also in the American Midwest,

in the South,

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 10 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Oliver Loving (approx. 3.9 miles away); Century of Coal Mining (approx. 7 miles away); J.W. Million School / Prof. Lester G. Mimms (approx. 7.1 miles away); Munns School

<i> Wahoo</i> Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, September 1, 2015

2. Wahoo Marker

(approx. 10 miles away); Carlow's Stone Wall (approx. 10 miles away); Chittenden P. Lyon, Jr. House (approx. 10 miles away); Turner Ruby House (approx. 10 miles away); The Hockersmith House (approx. 10.1 miles away).

Also see . . .
1. Wikipedia article on Mush Morton. (Submitted on September 23, 2015, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)
2. Wkipedia article on USS Wahoo. (Submitted on September 23, 2015, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

Additional keywords. Cmdr. D. W. "Mush" Morton, USN / Wahoo

View of marker in front of Nortonville Municipal Building & Library. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, September 1, 2015

3. View of marker in front of Nortonville Municipal Building & Library.

Cmdr. D. W. "Mush" Morton, USN image. Click for full size.

Public Domain

4. Cmdr. D. W. "Mush" Morton, USN

The<i> U.S.S. Wahoo</i> image. Click for full size.

Public Domain

5. The U.S.S. Wahoo

Credits. This page was last revised on March 31, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 23, 2015, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 866 times since then and 30 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on September 23, 2015, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. 2. submitted on March 31, 2026, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. 3, 4, 5. submitted on September 23, 2015, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.