MELVILLE S. BROWN, CDR, USN
Melville Brown '10
Lucky Bag
From the 1910 Lucky Bag:
Melville Stuart Brown
Chicago, Illinois
"Chub" "Thug"
Our Chub likes to shoot all the day;
Loves to draw, if he feels in the way.
He's round, fat, and tubby,
Like a cherub so chubby,
And couldn't get made, so they say.
MOST of us come in like a lamb—but not Chub! Never bluffed for a day, he was one of the hardest plebes in 1910. Youngster year and during his Second Class stage he continued to tear along the same wild course, despite the soothing influence of the gentle Winfield. The sole patentee and proprietor of the Golliwog cast of countenance, the Thug nevertheless makes a large hit when he does cut loose on the floor of the Gym. Short and stocky, he was one of the stars of the Rifle Team, and has won his numerals on almost every kind of class team there is. His "M.S.B." on many of the best things between these covers show that his hand is artistic even though his temperament is not.
He usually kept pretty close to the head of the class with a negative amount of honing, and except when helping someone else out, could usually be found during study hours rapt in a bridge game with Cooke and Upty. But more than that, his is a hard, conscientious worker, gifted with infinite patience for the minutiae of detail which most of us are inclined to slur over, hut which make for success in its fullest sense. Endowed with much horse sense and a huge fund of humor. Chub is a sure cure for the blues in any stage, and an excellent counsellor on any question.
"Drop m' somew'ere in de Sevent' Fleet."
Melville Stuart Brown
Chicago, Illinois
"Chub" "Thug"
Our Chub likes to shoot all the day;
Loves to draw, if he feels in the way.
He's round, fat, and tubby,
Like a cherub so chubby,
And couldn't get made, so they say.
MOST of us come in like a lamb—but not Chub! Never bluffed for a day, he was one of the hardest plebes in 1910. Youngster year and during his Second Class stage he continued to tear along the same wild course, despite the soothing influence of the gentle Winfield. The sole patentee and proprietor of the Golliwog cast of countenance, the Thug nevertheless makes a large hit when he does cut loose on the floor of the Gym. Short and stocky, he was one of the stars of the Rifle Team, and has won his numerals on almost every kind of class team there is. His "M.S.B." on many of the best things between these covers show that his hand is artistic even though his temperament is not.
He usually kept pretty close to the head of the class with a negative amount of honing, and except when helping someone else out, could usually be found during study hours rapt in a bridge game with Cooke and Upty. But more than that, his is a hard, conscientious worker, gifted with infinite patience for the minutiae of detail which most of us are inclined to slur over, hut which make for success in its fullest sense. Endowed with much horse sense and a huge fund of humor. Chub is a sure cure for the blues in any stage, and an excellent counsellor on any question.
"Drop m' somew'ere in de Sevent' Fleet."
Loss
Melville was lost on November 2, 1936 when the single-seat fighter aircraft he was piloting crashed into a rocky ridge near Descanso, California while flying to Phoenix from San Diego. He was the executive officer of USS Lexington (CV 2) at the time.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Melville went to Hyde Park High School in Chicago and entered Annapolis from a college in Racine, Wisconsin. At the Naval Academy, he coached the naval rifle team and graduated second in his class.
He married Florence Catlin on August 3, 1914, in Chicago. Her father Theodore worked for over 50 years in the Chicago Tribune’s proof room.
In the January 1920 census Melville was on USS Rochester in New York City. In 1930, Melville’s family lived in Newport, Rhode Island, with his stepmother Katherine.
Melville was survived by his daughter Katherine, age 20 of Coronado, and Garrison, age 16, a student at New Mexico Military Institute. Katherine became engaged to Lt. George Erwin of USS Saratoga on December 27, 1936. They were to be married the next March.
Melville’s father Taylor was a lawyer, member of the 131st regiment (old Illinois First Cavalry) and a Spanish War veteran. In August, 1903, Taylor was officer in charge of the Illinois state rifle team defending its Washburn trophy. Melville’s mother was Fannie (Dayton.) On December 28, 1901, she died of puerperal eclampsia after giving birth to Annie. Taylor’s second wife was Katherine from Wisconsin.
Melville’s sister Jessie married in May 1915, and Melville’s wife was matron of honor. His brothers were Dayton and Charles-Everett who died in 1958.
He had only become a qualified naval aviator (#4171) a short while before, in 1935.
From Wikipedia:
CDR Brown was the Commanding Officer of the USS Truxtun (DD-229) when the ship was commissioned in 1921, and later was Executive Officer of the aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-2).
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.
January 1911
January 1914
January 1916
January 1917
March 1918
January 1919
January 1920
January 1921
January 1922
May 1923
July 1923
September 1923
November 1923
January 1924
March 1924
May 1924
July 1924
September 1924
November 1924
January 1925
March 1925
May 1925
July 1925
October 1925
January 1926
October 1926
January 1927
April 1927
October 1927
January 1928
April 1928
July 1928
October 1928
January 1929
April 1929
July 1929
October 1929
January 1930
April 1930
October 1930
LT William Sample '19 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Creighton Lankford '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Charles Signer '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Robert Symes '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Renwick Calderhead '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg John Eldridge, Jr. '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Julian Greer '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Weldon Hamilton '28 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
January 1931
LT William Sample '19 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Creighton Lankford '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Charles Signer '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Robert Symes '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Renwick Calderhead '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg John Eldridge, Jr. '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Julian Greer '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Weldon Hamilton '28 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
April 1931
LT William Sample '19 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Creighton Lankford '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Charles Signer '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Robert Symes '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Renwick Calderhead '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg John Eldridge, Jr. '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Julian Greer '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Weldon Hamilton '28 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
July 1931
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Robert Symes '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Eugene Davis '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Renwick Calderhead '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Julian Greer '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS William Arthur '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
ENS Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
October 1931
LT Edwin Conway '20 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Robert Symes '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Eugene Davis '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Renwick Calderhead '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
ENS Weldon Hamilton '28 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
ENS William Arthur '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
ENS William Oliver '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
January 1932
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Robert Symes '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Eugene Davis '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Renwick Calderhead '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
ENS Weldon Hamilton '28 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
ENS William Arthur '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
ENS William Oliver '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
April 1932
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Robert Symes '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Eugene Davis '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Renwick Calderhead '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Julian Greer '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS William Arthur '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
ENS Mathias Wyatt '29 (Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Force)
ENS William Oliver '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
October 1932
January 1933
April 1933
July 1933
October 1933
April 1934
July 1934
October 1934
January 1935
LTjg John Duke '26
LTjg Ralph Smith '26
1LT Harold Bauer '30
LTjg Vernon Hain '31
LTjg Thomas Ashworth, Jr. '31
ENS Edward Allen '31
LTjg Robert Mackert '31
April 1935
LTjg John Duke '26
LTjg Ralph Smith '26
LTjg Robert Coates '30
1LT Nicholas Pusel '30
1LT Harold Bauer '30
LTjg Vernon Hain '31
LTjg Thomas Ashworth, Jr. '31
ENS Edward Allen '31
LTjg Robert Mackert '31
October 1935
LT Richard Moss '24
LTjg John Duke '26
1LT Ernest Pollock '28
LTjg William Pennewill '29
LTjg Robert Coates '30
1LT Nicholas Pusel '30
LTjg Gilbert Carpenter '30
LTjg Lance Massey '30
1LT Harold Bauer '30
LTjg Robert Mackert '31
January 1936
LTjg John Duke '26
1LT Ernest Pollock '28
LTjg William Pennewill '29
LTjg Gilbert Carpenter '30
LTjg Lance Massey '30
1LT Harold Bauer '30
LTjg Charles Mallory, Jr. '32
April 1936
July 1936
LTjg Vernon Hain '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Philip Ashworth '31 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Truman Carpenter '32 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg George Ottinger '32 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 5B)
Namesake
Brown Field Municipal Airport, near San Diego, is named for Melville.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.