Capt. Frank Otto Brown

1918 - 1944  (26 years)

• Name	Frank Otto Brown
  Title	Capt.
  Born	1918	Cleveland, Cuyahoga Co, OH
  Gender	Male
  Died	24 Oct 1944	Ship-Arisan Maru, North Pacific Ocean, At Sea
  	The Arisan Maru was a Japanese freighter POW ship, one among many. It was sunk 24 October 1944 by an Allied forces torpedo. The two possible submarines which sank the Arisan Maru were the USS Shark or the USS Snook, with inadequate or conflicting information about which submarine was responsible. These two submarines were part of a wolf pack of allied submarines responsible for the many sinkings of the Japanese convoy MATA-30 heading for Takao. The USS Shark was sunk in Luzon Strait by Japanese destroyers on 24 October 1944. The last contact from the USS Snook was on 8 April 1945 in Luzon Strait. — View Ships' Information — Close Ships' Information Japanese Freighter Arisan Maru POW Ship Arisan Maru was a Japanese freighter and was one of Imperial Japan's "hell ships". The vessel, named for a mountain on Formosa, was initially used as a troop transport. The vessel was then used for the transportation of POWs from the Philippines to Manchuria, China or Japan. On October 24, 1944 the ship was torpedoed by an American submarine and sank. Of the 1,781 POWs aboard, all of them escaped the sinking ship but were not rescued by the Japanese. In the end, only nine of the prisoners survived the sinking. (click ship image to close ship information) Allied Submarine USS Shark POW Ship On 24th October, USS Seadragon received a message from the USS Shark stating that she had made radar contact with a single freighter, and she was going in to attack. This was the last message received from the submarine. She was reported as presumed lost on 27th November. Japanese records examined after the war indicate that on 24th October 1944, in Luzon Strait, Japanese destroyer Harukaze made contact with a submerged submarine and dropped depth charges. After losing and regaining the contact, the destroyer dropped another 17 depth charges which resulted in “bubbles, heavy oil, clothes and cork” coming to the surface. (click ship image to close ship information) Allied Submarine USS Snook POW ShipUSS Shark The USS Snook was lost on her 9th patrol in Luzon Strait. She was last heard of on 8th April, 1945, when she was reporting her position. (click ship image to close ship information)
  Buried	24 Oct 1944	Lost at Sea, North Pacific Ocean
  Person ID	I282	adkinshorton
  Last Modified	6 Jan 2021

  
  

  Father	Dr. Otto Richard Brown,   b. 30 Jun 1893, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Co, OK ,   d. 31 Mar 1980, San Diego, San Diego Co, CA  (Age 86 years)
  Mother	Clementine Pokorny,   b. 23 Aug 1895, Cleveland, Cuyahoga Co, OH ,   d. Jun 1977, Lancaster, Los Angeles Co, CA  (Age 81 years)
  Married	31 Jul 1916	Cuyahoga Co, OH
  Documents » Slide Show		Otto Richard Brown & Clementine Pokorny - 1916 Marriage Certificate View Household Members
  		1920-Philippine Islands Census, Camp Eldridge, Philippine Islands      << View United States Federal Census Help >> Otto Richard Brown & Clementine Pokorny and son
  		1930-CA Census, District 657, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Co, CA      << View United States Federal Census Help >> Otto Richard Brown & Clementine Pokorny with sons
  		1940-OR Census, District 1-11A, Baker, Baker Co, OR      << View United States Federal Census Help >> Otto Richard Brown & Clementine Pokorny with sons - pt.1
  		1940-OR Census, District 1-11A, Baker, Baker Co, OR      << View United States Federal Census Help >> Otto Richard Brown & Clementine Pokorny with sons - pt.2
  Family ID	F1505	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Documents » Slide Show		1921 List of Immigration of U.S. Citizens on the U.S.A.T. Sherman, from Manila, Philippine Islands to Port of San Francisco Frank Otto Brown, traveling with family
  		1939-1945 U.S. Rosters of WWII Dead Frank O. Brown
  		1942 POW Report - Frank O. Brown
  		1944 MIA Record - Frank Otto Brown U.S. WWII Military Personnel Missing In Action or Lost At Sea, 1941-1946
  		Roster of the Arisan Maru Japanese Freighter & POW Ship Capt. Frank O. Brown, U.s. Army, 45th Infantry Regiment (excerpt)
  		Frank Otto Brown 1945 Letter from the War Department (KIA 1944)

  
  

  Histories		Initial Launch of Japanese Freighter, Arisan Maru, WWII POW Vessel The Arisan Maru was sunk 24 October 1944 by a U.S. Submarine, U.S.S. Shark, which was thereafter also sunk by depth charges. Frank O. Brown was among those listed as Missing In Action after this sinking. Only 9 men escaped immediate death, of which 5 were rescued by the Chinese.
  		Lying to the Troops: American Leaders and the Defense of Bataan A factor in the fall of the Philippine Islands to the Japanese. U.S. Troops abandoned (perhaps necessarily), initially becoming Prisoners of War if not Killed In Action beforehand.

  
  

• Notes

  Frank was Killed In Action with the sinking of a Japanese ship carrying American prisoners of war, sailing from Manila, Philippine Islands by submarine action on October 24, 1944.