MORRIS H. SPRIGGS, CDR, USN (RET.)
Morris Spriggs '15
Lucky Bag
From the 1915 Lucky Bag:
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.
His wife, Marie, was listed as next of kin; he has a memory marker in Ohio.
Career
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.
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
Midshipman, USS North Dakota
January 1916
Ensign, USS Constellation
January 1917
Ensign, USS Paducah
March 1918
Lieutenant, USS George Washington
January 1919
Lieutenant, USS Perkins
January 1920
Lieutenant, USS O-7
January 1921
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS N-1
January 1922
Lieutenant, under instruction, Naval Academy
Others at this command:
May 1923
Lieutenant, under instruction, Columbia University, New York
July 1923
Lieutenant, under instruction, Submarine Base New London, Connecticut
Others at this command:
September 1923
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS S-8
November 1923
Lieutenant, Submarine Division 12, USS Rainbow
Others at this command:
January 1924
Lieutenant, Submarine Division 12, USS Rainbow
Others at this command:
March 1924
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS S-2
May 1924
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS S-8
July 1924
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS S-8
September 1924
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS S-8
November 1924
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS S-8
January 1926
Lieutenant, Navy Yard, Mare Island, California
October 1926
Lieutenant Commander, Navy Yard, Mare Island, California
January 1927
Lieutenant Commander, Navy Yard, Mare Island, California
April 1927
Lieutenant Commander, Navy Yard, Mare Island, California
October 1927
Lieutenant Commander, Navy Yard, Mare Island, California
January 1928
Lieutenant Commander, Navy Yard, Mare Island, California
April 1928
Lieutenant Commander, Navy Yard, Mare Island, California
July 1928
Lieutenant Commander, USS Mississippi
Others at this command:
October 1928
Lieutenant Commander, USS Mississippi
Others at this command:
January 1929
Lieutenant Commander, USS Mississippi
Others at this command:
April 1929
Lieutenant Commander, USS Mississippi
Others at this command:
July 1929
Lieutenant Commander, USS Mississippi
Others at this command:
October 1929
Lieutenant Commander, Office of Naval Intelligence, Washington, D.C.
January 1930
Lieutenant Commander, engineering officer, USS Chester
April 1930
Lieutenant Commander, engineering officer, USS Chester
Others at this command:
October 1930
Lieutenant Commander, engineer officer, USS Chester
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
January 1931
Lieutenant Commander, engineer officer, USS Chester
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
LTjg Oscar Pate, Jr. '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 9S)
April 1931
Lieutenant Commander, Navy Yard, Pearl Harbor
July 1931
Lieutenant Commander, Navy Yard, Pearl Harbor
October 1931
Lieutenant Commander, Navy Yard, Pearl Harbor
January 1932
Lieutenant Commander, Navy Yard, Pearl Harbor
April 1932
Lieutenant Commander, Navy Yard, Pearl Harbor
October 1932
Lieutenant Commander, Navy Yard, Mare Island, California
Others at this command:
January 1933
Lieutenant Commander, Navy Yard, Mare Island, California
Others at this command:
April 1933
Lieutenant Commander, Navy Yard, Mare Island, California
Others at this command:
July 1933
Lieutenant Commander, navigator, USS Milwaukee
October 1933
Lieutenant Commander, navigator, USS Milwaukee
April 1934
Lieutenant Commander, navigator, USS Milwaukee
July 1934
Lieutenant Commander, navigator, USS Milwaukee
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
October 1934
Lieutenant Commander, navigator, USS Milwaukee
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
January 1935
Lieutenant Commander, navigator, USS Milwaukee
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
April 1935
Lieutenant Commander, navigator, USS Milwaukee
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
October 1935
Lieutenant Commander, USS Rigel
Others at or embarked at this command:
January 1936
Lieutenant Commander, USS Rigel
Others at or embarked at this command:
April 1936
Lieutenant Commander, USS Rigel
Others at or embarked at this command:
July 1936
retired as LCDR June 30, 1936
July 1938
LCDR, retired, living in La Jolla, California
January 1939
LCDR, retired, living in La Jolla, California
October 1939
LCDR, retired, living in La Jolla, California
June 1940
Lieutenant Commander, retired on active list, 16th Naval District
Others at this command:
November 1940
Lieutenant Commander, retired on active list, 16th Naval District
Others at this command:
April 1941
Lieutenant Commander, retired on active list, 16th Naval District
Others at this command:
Class of 1915
Morris is one of 18 members of the Class of 1915 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
