Garrett Morgan, inventor of the gas mask and traffic light, is being honored by the Inventor's Hall of Fame this year.  Although the fact that his invention is very important to our military, nearly a century after its conception, is worthy of some note, Mr. Morgan's personal heroism makes his story all the more remarkable. 

Garrett Morgan lived in Cleveland in 1916, at a time when men dug tunnels below Lake Erie to bring clean water to the growing city.  Cave ins and deaths due to noxious fumes were common, but on the night of July 25, 1916, an explosion left many men trapped, dead and dying, beneath the Lake.  Two rescue teams had gone in.  Neither had come out.  In desperation, someone remembered Garrett Morgan's “Safety Hood” and called the inventor.  Would he come?

Garrett Morgan not only came, but he raced to the scene with 25 of his hoods.  In his hurry, in the middle of the night, he wore only his pants; he had forgotten his shirt and boots.  When he arrived, he was met by a gathering of men, including policemen, firemen, trained life savers, and the mayor.  However, when Mr. Morgan called for volunteers for the rescue mission, only three brave men, including his brother, were willing to accompany him down into the tunnels.

The rescue effort was successful; after seeing the party (with Morgan still barefoot) recover two men and several bodies from the tunnels, other men stepped up.  The gas mask saved many lives that night, in its first true test, and four men recieved the prestigeous Carnegie Hero Fund Commission medal for their acts of bravery.  Garrett Morgan was not one of them; Garrett Morgan, who suffered health problems for the rest of his life from administering artificial respiration to a survivor whose lungs were full of toxic fumes, was black.

A committee of prominent Clevelanders took it upon themselves to honor Mr. Morgan, and presented him with a gold medal, inscribed, “Garrett A. Morgan:  Our most honored and bravest citizen.”  And now he is being honored by the Inventor's Hall of Fame for his work.  Thank you to Mr. Morgan, for saving lives at risk to his own, and for designing equipment that has saved, undoubtedly, thousands of lives of our soldiers over the years.

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