KENNETH L. BROWN, CAPT, USMC

Kenneth Brown '41

Date of birth: June 17, 1918

Date of death: November 23, 1943

Age: 25

Lucky Bag

From the 1941 Lucky Bag:

KENNETH LYNDON BROWN

Bradford, New Hampshire

"Up in the Franconia Mountains God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that, in New England, He makes men." Proof of these words is found in the person of "Bunk," the "Bradford terror." Additional proof may be found in the testimony of any of the men he has met during his very successful boxing career here at the Naval Academy.

This lusty son of the mountains has been batting away at the world since he first started to crawl. His first coherent words, "He only has two hands, hasn't he?" were an apt prophecy of his never - say - uncle method of going through life. His frequent, but not serious, tangles with the powers-that-be, academic and executive, show his ability at both getting in and pulling out of trouble. Even if he had the opportunity, he could not sit by and consider life from the side of the road. Unless he is in the middle of a struggle, be it sports, studies, or some hard-to-convince person, he is not happy.

Boat Club 2, 1; Prop Gang 4; Boxing 4, 3, 2, 1 bNt; Battalion Football 4; Baseball 4, 3,2.

The Class of 1941 was the first of the wartime-accelerated classes, graduating in February 1941.

KENNETH LYNDON BROWN

Bradford, New Hampshire

"Up in the Franconia Mountains God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that, in New England, He makes men." Proof of these words is found in the person of "Bunk," the "Bradford terror." Additional proof may be found in the testimony of any of the men he has met during his very successful boxing career here at the Naval Academy.

This lusty son of the mountains has been batting away at the world since he first started to crawl. His first coherent words, "He only has two hands, hasn't he?" were an apt prophecy of his never - say - uncle method of going through life. His frequent, but not serious, tangles with the powers-that-be, academic and executive, show his ability at both getting in and pulling out of trouble. Even if he had the opportunity, he could not sit by and consider life from the side of the road. Unless he is in the middle of a struggle, be it sports, studies, or some hard-to-convince person, he is not happy.

Boat Club 2, 1; Prop Gang 4; Boxing 4, 3, 2, 1 bNt; Battalion Football 4; Baseball 4, 3,2.

The Class of 1941 was the first of the wartime-accelerated classes, graduating in February 1941.

Loss

Kenneth was killed by enemy rifle fire on November 21, 1943, during the Battle of Tarawa. (See Navy Cross citation below for more details.)

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

In 1930, mother Ethel (Hodgkins) was a laundress who owned her own shop, brothers Norman and Stanley, and sister Ruth. His parents were divorced. His father was Norman who was a farmer.

He has a headstone in New Hampshire, though it indicates he was buried at sea. He is also listed at the Courts of the Missing in Hawaii.

His mother was listed as next of kin.

Navy Cross

From Hall of Valor:

The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Captain Kenneth Lyndon Brown (MCSN: 0-7186), United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty while serving as Artillery Battalion Commander of the SECOND Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces at Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands, on 21 November 1943. Conducting a reconnaissance in advance of his firing battery, Captain Brown discovered a group of infantrymen who had become separated from their regular units and, voluntarily assuming command, led them to a well-camouflaged enemy machine-gun pillbox emplacement which was delivering devastating cross-fire on our troops as they waded through the surf prior to gaining the beachhead. While maneuvering his group to the flank of the enemy weapon, several of his men were killed or wounded by a covering light machine gun and, in the face of almost certain death, he courageously exposed himself to the line of fire and was mortally wounded attempting to locate the hostile weapon. Captain Brown's grim determination, brilliant leadership and daring aggressiveness directly contributed to the saving of many lives and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
General Orders: Commander in Chief Pacific Forces: Serial 917 (February 8, 1944)
Action Date: 21-Nov-43
Service: Marine Corps
Rank: Captain
Company: Commanding Officer
Battalion: Artillery Battalion
Division: 2d Marine Division

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.

The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.

The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.