#3. Ralph Brown — The First Chaplain Honored in WW2

While everyone else ran for cover, Chaplain Ralph Brown drove straight into the bombs, machine gunning, and destruction of Japan’s first attack on The Philippines – on December 8, 1941, literally hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Brown collected wounded men in his old Pontiac automobile and drove them to the nearby hospital. And then he headed back into the bombing and staffing at least 5 more times, collecting wounded men and getting them to safety.

For those actions, he became the first chaplain in WW2 to receive the Distinguished Service Cross – the military’s second highest honor.

And that was on Day 1 of the war.

He spent the next 4 months driving the roads and trails of Bataan, serving the American troops attempting to hold back the Japanese advance.

He then survived the Bataan Death March, almost 3 years at Japan’s largest WW2 POW camp, and 2 friendly-fire ship bombings.

This is the incredible, self-sacrificing story of Chaplain Ralph Brown – a man on a mission from God.

Pastor Ralph Brown, ca, 1936.
Chaplain Ralph Brown in uniform, from a newspaper article about him receiving the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions at Clark Field on December 8, 1942.
Chaplain Brown’s wife Margaret and their 3 children accept his military medals in 1946.
Map showing Ralph Brown’s locations during WW2 and as a POW in The Philippines.
Route of the Oryoku Maru hell ship disaster.
Example of a World War 2 anti-VD propaganda poster. You can view more VD propaganda posters in this CNN article.
Anti-Axis propaganda poster. Notice the differences in the caricature of the Japanese man vs Hitler. US propaganda often portrayed Japanese characters as animal like, while making European Axis leaders cartoonish. You can see more examples in this Bing Search.
Biographical Sources
  • Ralph W D Brown entry, “US, World War II Prisoners of the Japanese, 1941-1945,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2010, original data:  National Archives and Records Administration, World War II Prisoners of the Japanese File, 2007 Update, 1941-1945. ARC ID: 212383, World War II Prisoners of the Japanese Data Files, 4/2005 – 10/2007, ARC ID: 731002, Records of the Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor, Collection ADBC, ARC: 718969, National Archives at College Park. College Park, Maryland, accessed 5 September 2022.
  • Ralph Warren D Brown entry, “Washington, U.S., Birth Index, 1907-1919,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, UT, 2002, original data: Washington State Department of Health, “Washington State Births 1907-1919,” Washington, accessed 5 September 2022.
  • Arthur Brown family, “1910 United States Federal Census,” Database online: Ancestry.com, Lehi, UT, 2006, Original data: Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls), Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C., accessed 5 September 2022.
  • Arthur Brown family, “1920 United States Federal Census, Database online: Ancestry.com, Lehi, UT, 2010, original data: Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920 (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls), Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C, accessed 5 September 2022.
  • Warren Arthur Brown, Chaplain (Major) Ralph W. D. Brown 0-20862, page 1, PDF document, found online at “Diary, Letters and Notes on the Life and Service of Chaplain Ralph W. D. Brown,” With Military Honors, accessed 6 September 2022.
  • Ralph W D Brown entry, “U.S. Select Military Registers, 1862-1985,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, UT, 2013, original data: United States Military Registers, 1902–1985, Salem, Oregon: Oregon State Library, accessed 5 September 2022.
  • “Interview with Margaret Brown by R. Franklin Thompson,” University of Puget Sound, 29 June 1978, transcript, page 3, posted online by AnneLeGare to Ancestry.com member tree, 26 September 2015.
  • Ralph Warren D Brown and Margaret Irene Parkin entry, “Washington, US, Marriage Records, 1854-2013,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2012, original data: Washington State Archives, Olympia, Washington, accessed 5 September 2022.
  • Margaret Irene Parkin, Sealth 1921, Broadway High School, Seattle, Washington, 1921, page 85, online at: “US High School Yearbooks, 1900-2016,” database online, Ancsetry.com, Lehi, Utah, 2010, accessed 13 September 2022.
  • Warren Parkin Brown, “US, World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2011, original data: First Registration Draft Cards, 1940-1945 (Washington), 198 boxes, NAI: 2838690, Records of the Selective Service System, 1926–1975, Record Group 147, National Archives and Records Administration, St Louis, Missouri, accessed 5 September 2022.
  • Ralph Brown family, “1930 United States Federal Census,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, UT, 2002, original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census, Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930, T626, 2,667 rolls, accessed 5 September 2022.
  • “Rev. Ralph Brown Wins Army D.S.C.,” The Madison Eagle, Madison, New Jersey, 28 May 1942, page 4, online at Newspaperrs.com, accessed 5 September 20022.
  • Infant Brown entry, “Washington, US, Select Death Index, 1907-1960,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2014, original data: Washington, Death Certificates, 1907-1960, Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013, accessed 5 September 2022.
  • Ralph Richard Brown entry, “US, Cemetery and Funeral Home Collection, 1847-Current,” database online: Ancesty.com, Provo, Utah, 2013, accessed 5 September 2022.
  • “MacArthur Commends Capt. Brown,” The Seattle Star, Seattle, Washington, 7 February 1942, page 1, online at Newspapers.com, accessed 5 September 2022.
  • “First Army Chaplain Given DSC Dies in Japan Prison,” The San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco, 16 September 1945, page 17, online at Newspapers.com.
  • Letter from Ralph W. D. Brown to Margaret Brown and children, 6 November 1942, Cabanatuan POW Camp #1, The Philippines, transcribed by Warren Arthur Brown, in CHAPLAIN (MAJOR) RALPH W. D. BROWN 0-20862, page 2, PDF document found online at “Diary, Letters and Notes on the Life and Service of Chaplain Ralph W. D. Brown,” With Military Honors. accessed 7 September 2022.
  • Transcription of Distinguished Service Cross citation found on Maj Ralph Warren D Brown memorial, Find A Grave, accessed 5 September 2022.
  • “Chaplains Report Revival of Religion in Philippines,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas, 3 Map 1942, page 8, online at Newspapers.com, accessed 5 September 2022.
  • Letter from Ralph W D Brown to Margaret Brown, 1 September 1943, Cabanatuan POW Camp #1, The Philippines, transcribed by Warren Arthur Brown, CHAPLAIN (MAJOR) RALPH W. D. BROWN 0-20862, PAGE 6, PDF document found online at “Diary, Letters and Notes on the Life and Service of Chaplain Ralph W. D. Brown,” With Military Honors, accessed 6 September 2022.
  • “Chapter 10—In Bilibid Prison, Manila,” “Diary, Letters and Notes on the Life and Service of Chaplain Ralph W. D. Brown,” With Military Honors, accessed 6 September 2022.
  • Letter from Ralph Brown to Margaret Brown, 12 December 1944, Bilibid Prison, Manila, The Philippines, transcribed by Warren Arthur Brown, in CHAPLAIN (MAJOR) RALPH W. D. BROWN 0-20862, page 6, PDF document found online at “Diary, Letters and Notes on the Life and Service of Chaplain Ralph W. D. Brown,” With Military Honors, accessed 6 September 2022.
  • Ralph W D Brown entry, “World War II Prisoners of War, 1941-1946,” Online Publication: Ancestry.com, Provo, UT, 2005, Original data: World War II Prisoners of War Data File [Archival Database], Records of World War II Prisoners of War, 1942-1947, Records of the Office of the Provost Marshal General, Record Group 389; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD, accessed 5 September 2022.
  • Arthur Warren Brown, “The Cruise of Death or Fifty Days in Hell,” in CHAPLAIN (MAJOR) RALPH W. D. BROWN 0-20862, page 7, PDF document found online at “Diary, Letters and Notes on the Life and Service of Chaplain Ralph W. D. Brown,” With Military Honors, accessed 6 September 2022.
  • Letter from Lt Col. John E Duffy, Chaplain, to Mrs. Ralph D Brown, 10 October 1945, Washington, D.C., transcribed by Warren Arthur Brown, in CHAPLAIN (MAJOR) RALPH W. D. BROWN 0-20862, page 8, PDF document found online at “Diary, Letters and Notes on the Life and Service of Chaplain Ralph W. D. Brown,” With Military Honors, accessed 6 September 2022.
  • “Citation for Bronze Star Medal (Posthumous),” transcribed by Warren Arthur Brown, in CHAPLAIN (MAJOR) RALPH W. D. BROWN 0-20862, page 10, PDF document found online at “Diary, Letters and Notes on the Life and Service of Chaplain Ralph W. D. Brown,” With Military Honors, accessed 6 September 2022.
  • Ralph W D Brown entry, “US, National Cemetery Interment Control Forms, 1928-1962,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2012, original data: Interment Control Forms, 1928–1962, Interment Control Forms, A1 2110-B, NAID: 5833879, Record Group 92, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774–1985, The National Archives at St. Louis, St. Louis, MO. Accessed 6 September 2022.
  • “Widow of Major Brown, Hero of Bataan, Gets His Medals,” The Seattle Daily Times, 5 December 1946, page 13, online at GenealogyBank.com, accessed 7 September 2022.
  • Margaret P Brown family, ”1950 United States Federal Census, database online, Ancestry.com, Lehi, Utah, 2022, original data: Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Population Schedules for the 1950 Census, 1950 – 1950, Washington, DC: National Archives, Washington, DC., Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 – 2007, Record Group 29, accessed 13 September 2022.
  • Margaret I Brown entry, “Washington, US, Death Index, 1940-2017,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2002 original data: Washington State Department of Health. State Death Records Index, 1940-1996. Microfilm. Washington State Archives, Olympia, Washington, accessed 13 September 2022.
  • Margaret P Brown memorial, Find A Grave, accessed 13 September 2022.
  • Margaret A. Wix memorial, Find a Grave, accessed 13 September 2022.
  • Ralph Richard Brown memorial, Find A Grave, accessed 13 September 2022.
Historic Audio Sources
Image sources
  • Portrait of Ralph Brown: Uploaded to Ancestry.com by user John Eliason, 10 October 2007.
  • Chaplain Brown in uniform: “MacArthur Commends Capt. Brown,” The Seattle Star, Seattle, Washington, 7 February 1942, page 1, online at Newspapers.com, accessed 5 September 2022.
  • Margaret Brown and Children: “Widow of Major Brown, Hero of Bataan, Gets His Medals,” The Seattle Daily Times, 5 December 1946, page 13, online at GenealogyBank.com, accessed 7 September 2022.
  • Maps created by Anastasia Harman
  • She may look clean but… Propaganda Poster: Contributors U.S. Government Date 1940 Extent 18″ x 24″ Physical Form Poster Type of Resource Still Image Subject Health education World War, 1939-1945. United States. Physical location University of Minnesota Libraries, Social Welfare History Archives.

Comments

No comments yet. Why don’t you start the discussion?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *