MORRIS H. SPRIGGS, CDR, USN (RET.)
Morris Spriggs '15
Lucky Bag
From the 1915 Lucky Bag:
Morris Homer Spriggs
Paulding, Ohio
"Snookums" "Snooks" "Busque" "Busquelo"
THE sly old fox! The dark-haired, dreamy-eyed, quiet, easy-going youth who, for two and a half long years, fooled the O. C.'s into thinking that he was the most innocent, peaceably inclined person in the whole Brigade. But during the last half of the third year, how things did drop! Navy about a hundred, Spriggs nothing. One Saturday morning, through the clever work of its sleuths, the Discipline Department discovered that artillery had been smuggled into Bancroft and certain sections heavily fortified. As a result of later investigations the Department became so alarmed that they held a council of war and decided that Snooks must go to sea; that it was not safe with him at large. The Sixth Company cry since that day has been:
"Close your windows and bolt your doors—
Snooks is loose with his forty-fours."
To know Snooks is to like him, and to know him well one should have lived three years in the old Sixth. He is very quiet and easy-going by nature, with but few, if any, worries. Occasionally he likes a good rough-house, and on all liberties he is out for a good time. One of his greatest pleasures is in fussing Walt's queens.
You would hardly call Snooks a savoir or a savant, but he stands about the middle of the class without a great deal of effort. He is, above all, a good, practical worker and a great advocate of there being two ways of doing things the right way and the wrong way. He can naturally show youth at his way is the right way. The Navy was made for Snooks and Snooks for the Navy, so there you are.
"Sure I'll drag for you, Walt."
"Rainbow, why didn't you tell me they were inspecting beds?"
Reina Mercedes (2).
Morris Homer Spriggs
Paulding, Ohio
"Snookums" "Snooks" "Busque" "Busquelo"
THE sly old fox! The dark-haired, dreamy-eyed, quiet, easy-going youth who, for two and a half long years, fooled the O. C.'s into thinking that he was the most innocent, peaceably inclined person in the whole Brigade. But during the last half of the third year, how things did drop! Navy about a hundred, Spriggs nothing. One Saturday morning, through the clever work of its sleuths, the Discipline Department discovered that artillery had been smuggled into Bancroft and certain sections heavily fortified. As a result of later investigations the Department became so alarmed that they held a council of war and decided that Snooks must go to sea; that it was not safe with him at large. The Sixth Company cry since that day has been:
"Close your windows and bolt your doors—
Snooks is loose with his forty-fours."
To know Snooks is to like him, and to know him well one should have lived three years in the old Sixth. He is very quiet and easy-going by nature, with but few, if any, worries. Occasionally he likes a good rough-house, and on all liberties he is out for a good time. One of his greatest pleasures is in fussing Walt's queens.
You would hardly call Snooks a savoir or a savant, but he stands about the middle of the class without a great deal of effort. He is, above all, a good, practical worker and a great advocate of there being two ways of doing things the right way and the wrong way. He can naturally show youth at his way is the right way. The Navy was made for Snooks and Snooks for the Navy, so there you are.
"Sure I'll drag for you, Walt."
"Rainbow, why didn't you tell me they were inspecting beds?"
Reina Mercedes (2).
Loss
Morris was lost when the Japanese "Hell Ship" he was aboard, Arisan Maru, was sunk by an American submarine on October 24, 1944.
Prior to his capture, he was on the retired list but serving in the "Office of Captain of the Yard" of Naval Station Olongapo, Philippines.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Morris graduated from Paulding High School in 1910. He was honored with others who died in World War II in its 1947 yearbook.
In September 1915, Morris was on the USS North Dakota when it docked in Pensacola. The ship was greeted by Lieutenants Patrick Bellinger (’07) and Richard Saufley (’08) in Curtiss hydroplanes which encircled the ship. This was the first time this type of greeting was done in Pensacola.
Morris married Helen Leslie Wright on January 31, 1918, in Manhattan. In the late 1920s, he married Maree/Mary Angela (Comini.) She was formerly married to Major Herbert Browning Newland.
Morris' father Frank was an attorney, his mother was Margaret (Pettay) who died in 1908. His father married Cora (Dunathan) in 1909. Morris’ brother Francis Paul became an attorney, and he died in November 1964. His sister Florence became Mrs. James Yenish.
He had command of USS Davis (Destroyer No. 65) for a week in August 1919.
In 1924 and for some portion of 1925 Morris was commanding officer of USS S-8 (SS 113).
He was a Lieutenant Commander and a member of the engineering department aboard USS Mississippi in the late 1920s; he was awarded a letter of recognition from the Secretary of the Navy for his performance during this time per the Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 138 (August 16, 1930).
His wife, Marie, was listed as next of kin; he has a memory marker in Ohio and is listed at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.
Photographs
From his high school's 1947 yearbook, which honored those alumni who died in WWII.
Prisoner of War Medal
From Hall of Valor:
Lieutenant Commander Morris H. Spriggs (NSN: 0-9001), United States Navy, was captured by the Japanese after the fall of Corregidor, Philippine Islands, on 6 May 1942, and was held as a Prisoner of War until his death while still in captivity.
General Orders: NARA Database: Records of World War II Prisoners of War, created, 1942 - 1947
Service: Navy
Division: Prisoner of War (Philippine Islands)
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
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 1915
January 1916
January 1917
March 1918
January 1919
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January 1921
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May 1923
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July 1928
October 1928
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October 1930
January 1931
LTjg Oscar Pate, Jr. '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 9S)
April 1931
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November 1940
April 1941
Memorial Hall Error
The Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps of 1942 lists him as a retired Commander; he is listed in Memorial Hall as LCDR, USN.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
