Yes, to my understanding they are brown. I have an original pair of type 1 service shoes and mine are brown and still have the repair tag on them dated to 1943. Mine are in very good condition, not quite new, but very good condition. Seems mine were repaired and never worn again. They also came from an air Force Base,but in Douglas Arizona
Does your pair have any sort of "official marking" on them such as "US Army" or a stores number or any other marking, please?