Date of Birth source is U.S., Select Military Registers, 1862-1985:
Birth Date: 9 Oct 1914
Military Date: 7 Aug 1942
Publication Date: 1943
Title: U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Officers
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USMC World War II
Squadron Executive Officer Major Fletcher L. Brown Jr
MIA/KIA , location Solomon Islands, date of loss September 6, 1942 Official date of death September 7, 1943
Unit VMSB Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 232, Marine Air Group 23, 2nd Marine Air Wing, FMF,
Hometown: Jacksonville Beach, Florida
Wife, Mrs. Fletcher L. Brown, Jr., c/o Dr. Fletcher L. Brown, Sr.
service# O-005613
Awards: World War II Victory Medal, Navy Cross, Purple Heart
Details of career here.
Major Fletcher L. Brown, Jr. was a Marine dive bomber pilot. He served as the executive officer of VMSB-232, part of the Cactus Air Force, during the campaign for Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands. A bold flyer and effective leader, Brown earned recognition for his performance in strikes against Japanese ground troops on the 'Canal, and against shipping near Ramos Island.
On 7 September 1942, Major Brown led a division of dive bombers in a strike on Japanese harbor installations on Gizo in the western Solomons. No aircraft were lost in the attack, but a "violent rain squall" blew in on the return flight. The formation, flying at just 200′ altitude, broke apart as each pilot tried to make his own way through the storm. One aircraft was seen to crash, and another disappeared in the gloom. Brown's bomber (SBD-3 BuNo 03356) never returned Henderson Field.
Neither Brown nor his gunner, Corporal Robert S. Russell were seen again. Both men were declared dead on 7 September 1943.
July 1945, the wreck of an American aircraft was discovered near Doma Cove on Guadalcanal's northwestern shore. A radial engine suggested an SBD-type bomber; serial numbers were retrieved from various parts of the airframe, and and eighteen-inch high number "21" was visible on the fuselage. Nearby was a crude cross grave inscribed "2 Men" and adorned with a speed plate from the aircraft. Badly shattered and commingled remains were exhumed from the grave and brought to the Guadalcanal cemetery for burial as unknowns.
A post-war investigation determined that the plane was possibly a Navy SBD, but the serial numbers did not match any manufacturer's database. Colonel Richard Mangrum, the former CO of VMSB-232, recalled that his squadron lost their SBD #21 – and that Major Brown habitually flew this plane. However, Mangrum believed that Brown had crashed at sea, and commented "it would be very hard for him to believe" that the remains were those of Brown and Russell.
Birth Date: 9 Oct 1914
Military Date: 7 Aug 1942
Publication Date: 1943
Title: U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Officers
---------------------------------------
USMC World War II
Squadron Executive Officer Major Fletcher L. Brown Jr
MIA/KIA , location Solomon Islands, date of loss September 6, 1942 Official date of death September 7, 1943
Unit VMSB Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 232, Marine Air Group 23, 2nd Marine Air Wing, FMF,
Hometown: Jacksonville Beach, Florida
Wife, Mrs. Fletcher L. Brown, Jr., c/o Dr. Fletcher L. Brown, Sr.
service# O-005613
Awards: World War II Victory Medal, Navy Cross, Purple Heart
Details of career here.
Major Fletcher L. Brown, Jr. was a Marine dive bomber pilot. He served as the executive officer of VMSB-232, part of the Cactus Air Force, during the campaign for Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands. A bold flyer and effective leader, Brown earned recognition for his performance in strikes against Japanese ground troops on the 'Canal, and against shipping near Ramos Island.
On 7 September 1942, Major Brown led a division of dive bombers in a strike on Japanese harbor installations on Gizo in the western Solomons. No aircraft were lost in the attack, but a "violent rain squall" blew in on the return flight. The formation, flying at just 200′ altitude, broke apart as each pilot tried to make his own way through the storm. One aircraft was seen to crash, and another disappeared in the gloom. Brown's bomber (SBD-3 BuNo 03356) never returned Henderson Field.
Neither Brown nor his gunner, Corporal Robert S. Russell were seen again. Both men were declared dead on 7 September 1943.
July 1945, the wreck of an American aircraft was discovered near Doma Cove on Guadalcanal's northwestern shore. A radial engine suggested an SBD-type bomber; serial numbers were retrieved from various parts of the airframe, and and eighteen-inch high number "21" was visible on the fuselage. Nearby was a crude cross grave inscribed "2 Men" and adorned with a speed plate from the aircraft. Badly shattered and commingled remains were exhumed from the grave and brought to the Guadalcanal cemetery for burial as unknowns.
A post-war investigation determined that the plane was possibly a Navy SBD, but the serial numbers did not match any manufacturer's database. Colonel Richard Mangrum, the former CO of VMSB-232, recalled that his squadron lost their SBD #21 – and that Major Brown habitually flew this plane. However, Mangrum believed that Brown had crashed at sea, and commented "it would be very hard for him to believe" that the remains were those of Brown and Russell.
Date of Birth source is U.S., Select Military Registers, 1862-1985:
Birth Date: 9 Oct 1914
Military Date: 7 Aug 1942
Publication Date: 1943
Title: U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Officers
---------------------------------------
USMC World War II
Squadron Executive Officer Major Fletcher L. Brown Jr
MIA/KIA , location Solomon Islands, date of loss September 6, 1942 Official date of death September 7, 1943
Unit VMSB Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 232, Marine Air Group 23, 2nd Marine Air Wing, FMF,
Hometown: Jacksonville Beach, Florida
Wife, Mrs. Fletcher L. Brown, Jr., c/o Dr. Fletcher L. Brown, Sr.
service# O-005613
Awards: World War II Victory Medal, Navy Cross, Purple Heart
Details of career here.
Major Fletcher L. Brown, Jr. was a Marine dive bomber pilot. He served as the executive officer of VMSB-232, part of the Cactus Air Force, during the campaign for Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands. A bold flyer and effective leader, Brown earned recognition for his performance in strikes against Japanese ground troops on the 'Canal, and against shipping near Ramos Island.
On 7 September 1942, Major Brown led a division of dive bombers in a strike on Japanese harbor installations on Gizo in the western Solomons. No aircraft were lost in the attack, but a "violent rain squall" blew in on the return flight. The formation, flying at just 200′ altitude, broke apart as each pilot tried to make his own way through the storm. One aircraft was seen to crash, and another disappeared in the gloom. Brown's bomber (SBD-3 BuNo 03356) never returned Henderson Field.
Neither Brown nor his gunner, Corporal Robert S. Russell were seen again. Both men were declared dead on 7 September 1943.
July 1945, the wreck of an American aircraft was discovered near Doma Cove on Guadalcanal's northwestern shore. A radial engine suggested an SBD-type bomber; serial numbers were retrieved from various parts of the airframe, and and eighteen-inch high number "21" was visible on the fuselage. Nearby was a crude cross grave inscribed "2 Men" and adorned with a speed plate from the aircraft. Badly shattered and commingled remains were exhumed from the grave and brought to the Guadalcanal cemetery for burial as unknowns.
A post-war investigation determined that the plane was possibly a Navy SBD, but the serial numbers did not match any manufacturer's database. Colonel Richard Mangrum, the former CO of VMSB-232, recalled that his squadron lost their SBD #21 – and that Major Brown habitually flew this plane. However, Mangrum believed that Brown had crashed at sea, and commented "it would be very hard for him to believe" that the remains were those of Brown and Russell.
Birth Date: 9 Oct 1914
Military Date: 7 Aug 1942
Publication Date: 1943
Title: U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Officers
---------------------------------------
USMC World War II
Squadron Executive Officer Major Fletcher L. Brown Jr
MIA/KIA , location Solomon Islands, date of loss September 6, 1942 Official date of death September 7, 1943
Unit VMSB Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 232, Marine Air Group 23, 2nd Marine Air Wing, FMF,
Hometown: Jacksonville Beach, Florida
Wife, Mrs. Fletcher L. Brown, Jr., c/o Dr. Fletcher L. Brown, Sr.
service# O-005613
Awards: World War II Victory Medal, Navy Cross, Purple Heart
Details of career here.
Major Fletcher L. Brown, Jr. was a Marine dive bomber pilot. He served as the executive officer of VMSB-232, part of the Cactus Air Force, during the campaign for Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands. A bold flyer and effective leader, Brown earned recognition for his performance in strikes against Japanese ground troops on the 'Canal, and against shipping near Ramos Island.
On 7 September 1942, Major Brown led a division of dive bombers in a strike on Japanese harbor installations on Gizo in the western Solomons. No aircraft were lost in the attack, but a "violent rain squall" blew in on the return flight. The formation, flying at just 200′ altitude, broke apart as each pilot tried to make his own way through the storm. One aircraft was seen to crash, and another disappeared in the gloom. Brown's bomber (SBD-3 BuNo 03356) never returned Henderson Field.
Neither Brown nor his gunner, Corporal Robert S. Russell were seen again. Both men were declared dead on 7 September 1943.
July 1945, the wreck of an American aircraft was discovered near Doma Cove on Guadalcanal's northwestern shore. A radial engine suggested an SBD-type bomber; serial numbers were retrieved from various parts of the airframe, and and eighteen-inch high number "21" was visible on the fuselage. Nearby was a crude cross grave inscribed "2 Men" and adorned with a speed plate from the aircraft. Badly shattered and commingled remains were exhumed from the grave and brought to the Guadalcanal cemetery for burial as unknowns.
A post-war investigation determined that the plane was possibly a Navy SBD, but the serial numbers did not match any manufacturer's database. Colonel Richard Mangrum, the former CO of VMSB-232, recalled that his squadron lost their SBD #21 – and that Major Brown habitually flew this plane. However, Mangrum believed that Brown had crashed at sea, and commented "it would be very hard for him to believe" that the remains were those of Brown and Russell.
Gravesite Details
Entered the service from Florida.
Family Members
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