A Jewish American fighter pilot, Lieutenant Morton Sher, received a proper burial 82 years after his plane was shot down during World War II in China. His remains were interred on December 14, 2023, coinciding with what would have been his 105th birthday, according to the United States Department of Defense.
Sher, a member of the famed “Flying Tigers,” flew missions to protect China from Japanese forces following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. On August 9, 1943, while piloting a P-40 Warhawk, he was shot down by Japanese bombers. His mother, Celia Sher, was awarded his Purple Heart that same year.
In the years following his death, Sher’s squadron erected a memorial stone at the crash site located in Xin Bai Village. A postwar review in 1947 concluded that his remains had been destroyed, leading to the assumption that they were unrecoverable. Efforts to locate his remains were made in 2012 and 2019, but both attempts were unsuccessful.
A breakthrough occurred in 2024 when the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency excavated the crash site in the province where Sher’s plane fell. Subsequent DNA analysis confirmed his identity in June 2025, leading to the burial.
Born in Baltimore, Maryland on December 14, 1920, Sher’s family later moved to Greenville, South Carolina, where they became active members of the Conservative synagogue, Congregation Beth Israel. During his high school years, Sher participated in the aviation club and was enrolled in the ROTC program. He was also a founding member of the Aleph Zadik Aleph chapter of the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization in Greenville, as noted by the funeral home that oversaw his burial.
Sher’s nephew, Steve “Morton” Traub, reflected on his uncle’s legacy in an interview with a local NBC station. “He dreamed of being a pilot. This guy did a lot for his country. He was my hero,” Traub stated. Although he never met Sher, Traub was raised by Sher’s father, David Sher, and grew up hearing stories about him.
“I wish I had known him, but if he had, I wouldn’t have been named after him. I feel like I knew him because I knew Papa,” Traub added, expressing a deep connection to his uncle despite the years that separated them.
The burial of Lt. Morton Sher not only honors his sacrifice but also serves as a poignant reminder of the contributions made by those who served in World War II, particularly in the fight against tyranny and oppression.
