Hometown: Swampscott, MA
Branch: U.S. Navy
Unit:  USS Borie (DD-215)
Military Honors: Navy Cross, Purple Heart
Date of Sacrifice: November 2, 1944 - KIA in the North Atlantic, north of the Azores 
Age: 28
Conflict: World War II, 1939-1945

Morrison Brown and his sister Mary were born on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, and raised in the small coastal town of Swampscott, Massachusetts—15 miles northwest of Boston, on Nahant Bay.

After graduating from Swampscott High School, Morrison attended Duke University in Durham, North Carolina from 1936-39. He studied pre-med and was active in football, swimming, Men’s Glee Club, choir, and the Beta Omega Sigma fraternity. He graduated with honors.

Brown married Francis Guillion and lived for a time in Miami Beach, Florida. His parents, Carroll and Marion (Morrison) Brown, also moved to Miami Beach. Prior to joining the service, Morrison was briefly employed by an advertising firm in Miami Beach.

Navy Career

Brown joined the United States Navy and served as an Apprentice Seaman in 1940. He was commissioned as an Ensign in 1941 in New York City and rose to the rank of Lieutenant by the time he was assigned to the USS Borie (DD-215) as Chief Engineering Officer.

According to the Naval History and Heritage Command, Borie “served on the Inshore Patrol, 15th Naval District, in Panama Bay, and later on patrol and escort in the Caribbean. The destroyer departed the Caribbean 26 June 1943 and on 30 July put to sea as a member of the hunter-killer group built around [escort carrier USS] Card (CVE-11).”

Refitted and transformed from a standard destroyer to a submarine killer, the Borie’s crew was made up mostly of Navy Reservists who had been serving together for three years.

Hunter-Killers and Wolfpacks

Borie was part of Captain Albert J. Isbell’s Task Group 21.14, and on a mission to find German U-boat submarines in the North Atlantic. In the early morning hours of November 1, 1943, Borie was north of the Azores islands.

The very large “Wolfpack Siegfried”—with 18 German U-boats—was operating in the area, disrupting North Atlantic convoys of troops and supplies. On October 31, 1943, Borie gained radar contact with a U-boat (U-flak 2) on the surface. When the sub dove, Borie laid down three patterns of depth charges—disabling the sub.

The next day, November 1, 1943, Borie’s radar discovered another German submarine on the surface. U-405 submerged and Borie gave chase, again launching a depth-charge attack. According to Naval History and Heritage Command:

A mechanical malfunction [on Borie] caused every depth charge on the stern racks to go into the water at once, resulting in a massive explosion that lifted Borie’s stern out of the water. The huge explosion also apparently damaged U-405 because she came to the surface and didn’t try to submerge again.

With the German U-boat now on the surface, U-405 and Borie exchanged gunfire. Taking topside damage, U-405 attempted to outmaneuver the American destroyer. Concerned that the U-boat would escape, Borie’s captain, Lieutenant Charles Hutchins, gave the order to ram. The sub turned, and timed with a large wave the Borie rode up onto the deck of U-405 from behind at a 20- to 30-degree angle.

U-405 managed to free itself, and an intense surface battle ended with the sub sinking and exploding underwater. Borie’s forward engine room was flooded, and saltwater had contaminated the ship’s fuel and water supply for the boilers. After losing the generators and electrical power, Hutchins gave the order to scuttle the ship.

The USS Goff (DD-247) and USS Barry (DDG-52) arrived to rescue survivors. Amazingly, Borie’s crew suffered no serious casualties during its intense battle with U-405. But the rescue was difficult in heavy rains, with 40-foot swells in frigid water. The rolling and pitching of the Borie and its rescue ships resulted in the loss of 27 men.

Navy Cross

Reports of Lt. Brown’s efforts to keep Borie in the fight would later earn him the Navy Cross. His citation reads:

The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Morrison Ropes Brown (NSN: 0-101070), United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Engineering Officer aboard the Destroyer USS BORIE (DD-215), when that vessel attacked and sank an enemy submarine in the waters of the Caribbean Sea* on the morning of 1 November 1943. To keep the engines of the BORIE operative in order to complete her mission, despite serious damage sustained during the prolonged battle, Lieutenant Brown remained steadfastly at his post, buffeted by debris in the heavy rolling of the vessel and with water pouring into the forward engine room. As the flooding increased and the compartment became untenable, he calmly ordered his men to safety while he stayed below, standing neck-deep in water at the throttle until the BORIE had completely destroyed the submarine. The conduct of Lieutenant Brown throughout this action reflects great credit upon himself, and was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

*According to Naval History and Heritage Command: “The action actually didn’t take place anywhere near the Caribbean Sea, so this was either operational security—or a fat-finger in transcribing the citation somewhere along the line.”

Lieutenant Morrison R. Brown was lost at sea and declared Missing in Action. His name is inscribed on the Tablets of the Missing at the North Africa American Cemetery in Carthage, Tunisia.

Sources
Original photo (digitally enhanced): Naval History and Heritage Command NH 102441
Duke University details provided by Ms. Rebecca Pattillo, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University
The Daily Item, Feb. 28, 1944: Lieut. Brown Cited for Heroism
Military Times—The Hall of Valor: Morrison Ropes Brown
HonorStates.org: Morrison Ropes Brown
U.S. Naval Institute: The Borie’s Duel to the Death
Naval History and Heritage Command: H064.2 Close Quarters Antisubmarine Warfare (Part 2)
Naval History and Heritage Command: USS Borie (DD-215)
Burial Site: Find a Grave