MORRIS H. SPRIGGS, CDR, USN (RET.)

Morris Spriggs '15

Date of birth: April 18, 1892

Date of death: October 24, 1944

Age: 52

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.

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

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 in Memorial Hall as LCDR, USN.

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.

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: CDR Isaac Kidd '06, LCDR Fred Berry '08, LCDR Joseph Murphy '09, LT Archer King, Jr. '15, LT Henry Mullinnix '16, LT Hugo Schmidt '16, LT Stanton Wooster '17, and LT Frank Fechteler '18.

May 1923

Lieutenant, under instruction, Columbia University, New York

July 1923

Lieutenant, under instruction, Submarine Base New London, Connecticut

Others at this command: LT Archer King, Jr. '15.

September 1923

Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS S-8

November 1923

Lieutenant, Submarine Division 12, USS Rainbow

Others at this command: LCDR William Callaway '11 and LTjg Paul Register '21.

January 1924

Lieutenant, Submarine Division 12, USS Rainbow

Others at this command: LCDR William Callaway '11 and LTjg Paul Register '21.

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 1925

Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS S-6

Others at this command: LTjg Paul Register '21.

March 1925

Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS S-6

Others at this command: LTjg Paul Register '21.

May 1925

Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS S-6

Others at this command: LTjg Paul Register '21.

July 1925

Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS S-6

Others at this command: LTjg Paul Register '21.

October 1925

Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS S-6

Others at this command: LTjg Paul Register '21.

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: LCDR Robert English '11, LT David Cummins '18, ENS Howard Gilmore '26, and ENS Renwick Calderhead '27.

October 1928

Lieutenant Commander, USS Mississippi

Others at this command: LCDR Robert English '11, LT David Cummins '18, ENS Howard Gilmore '26, and ENS Renwick Calderhead '27.

January 1929

Lieutenant Commander, USS Mississippi

Others at this command: LCDR Robert English '11, LT David Cummins '18, ENS Howard Gilmore '26, and ENS Renwick Calderhead '27.

April 1929

Lieutenant Commander, USS Mississippi

Others at this command: LCDR Robert English '11, LT David Cummins '18, ENS Howard Gilmore '26, and ENS Renwick Calderhead '27.

July 1929

Lieutenant Commander, USS Mississippi

Others at this command: LTjg Howard Gilmore '26, ENS Renwick Calderhead '27, ENS Bruce Van Voorhis '29, and ENS Finley Hall '29.

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: LTjg William Hank '25.

October 1930

Lieutenant Commander, engineer officer, USS Chester

Others at this command: LT William Davis '22, LTjg Julian Jordan '25, and LTjg William Hank '25.

Others at or embarked at this command: LTjg Oscar Pate, Jr. '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 9S) and LTjg Seymour Johnson '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 9S).

January 1931

Lieutenant Commander, engineer officer, USS Chester

Others at this command: LTjg Julian Jordan '25 and LTjg William Hank '25.

Others at or embarked at this command: LT William Davis '22 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 9S), LTjg Oscar Pate, Jr. '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 9S), and LTjg Seymour Johnson '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: LTjg Harold Madsen '25.

January 1933

Lieutenant Commander, Navy Yard, Mare Island, California

Others at this command: LTjg Harold Madsen '25.

April 1933

Lieutenant Commander, Navy Yard, Mare Island, California

Others at this command: LTjg Harold Madsen '25.

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: LTjg Andrew Harris '25.

Others at or embarked at this command: LTjg Robert Larson '24 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 6B).

October 1934

Lieutenant Commander, navigator, USS Milwaukee

Others at this command: LTjg Andrew Harris '25.

Others at or embarked at this command: LTjg Robert Larson '24 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 6B).

January 1935

Lieutenant Commander, navigator, USS Milwaukee

Others at this command: LTjg Andrew Harris '25.

Others at or embarked at this command: LTjg Robert Larson '24 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 6B).

April 1935

Lieutenant Commander, navigator, USS Milwaukee

Others at this command: LTjg Andrew Harris '25.

Others at or embarked at this command: LT Robert Larson '24 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 6B).

October 1935

Lieutenant Commander, USS Rigel

Others at or embarked at this command: LTjg John Burke '28 (Battle Force Torpedo School).

January 1936

Lieutenant Commander, USS Rigel

Others at or embarked at this command: LTjg John Burke '28 (Battle Force Torpedo School).

April 1936

Lieutenant Commander, USS Rigel

Others at or embarked at this command: LTjg John Burke '28 (Battle Force Torpedo School).

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: CDR Warner Portz '15, LCDR Edwin Crouch '21, LT Robert Johnson '24, LT Adolph Hede '25, LCDR Harold Pound '25, LT Jacob Britt '29, LT Leonard Duffy '29, LT Ernest Evans '31, LT Lion Miles '31, LT Charles Weschler '32, ENS John Patty, Jr. '37, and ENS Lewis Davis '37.

November 1940

Lieutenant Commander, retired on active list, 16th Naval District

Others at this command: CDR Warner Portz '15, LT Robert Johnson '24, LT Leonard Duffy '29, LT Augustus Alston, Jr. '31, LT Walter Bailey '31, and LTjg Green Goodloe '37.

April 1941

Lieutenant Commander, retired on active list, 16th Naval District

Others at this command: CDR Ryland Tisdale '15, CDR Warner Portz '15, LT Robert Johnson '24, and ENS Nelson Allen '39.

Class of 1915

Morris is one of 18 members of the Class of 1915 on Virtual Memorial Hall.

• ← Ryland Tisdale '15
• Warner Portz '15 →