List of American guerrillas in the Philippines

After the invasion of the Philippines by the Japanese in 1941, several Americans, civilian and military, evaded capture or escaped imprisonment. This occurred on several islands in the archipelago. With the aid of the local Philippine population, these Americans survived. However, not content with just surviving and avoiding capture, these Americans formed resistance groups, which were soon recognized by the American military, and eventually supplied. Initially relegated to an intelligence gathering role, these groups eventually took a more active and aggressive role, such that they were an integral part of the American re-conquest of the country.

Member list

Name	Notability	Reference
Bernard L. Anderson	US Army Air Corps major. Formed Kalayaan Command in Tayabas Province that focused on intel work. Linked up with Alejo Santos in the Bulacan Military Area north of Manila.[1]^:26 Col. Jaime Manzano was his executive officer.[1]^:114 Commanded 7,000 men.[1]^:226	[2]
Robert Arnold	Commanded military and guerrillas of the 15th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Army which operated in Ilocos Norte.[3]^:222–224 His thirty American soldiers joined forces with Walter Cushing's miners.[1]^:109 He later joined Capt. Guillermo Nakar's guerrilla outfit.[1]^:109	[3]
Robert V. Ball	Enlisted man on Mindanao, joined Col. Fertig's guerrilla group, sailed in May 1944 from Samar to Baler Bay on Luzon, and delivered a radio transmitter to Lapham.[4]^:157	[5]
Joseph Barker	Captain,[1]^:29 26th Cavalry, Philippine Scouts, US Army. Commanded East Central Luzon Guerrilla Area under Thorp, with Edwin Ramsey as adjutant and Bernard Anderson as chief of staff.[1]^:36 After the capture of Thorp, took command of Luzon Guerrilla Force. Captured in Manila while disguised as a priest.[1]^:56 Bayoneted to death by the Kempeitai at Manila North Cemetery on 2 October 1943.[3]^:183	[3]
George M. Barnett	Major, commanded the 2nd and 3rd Districts under Volckmann.	[6]
Leon Beck	Escaped from the Bataan Death March to become a guerrilla.[4]^:222	[5]
Henry Roy Bell	Professor, Silliman University. Major in the guerrilla forces on Negros island, head of the Free Government, printed the Victory News, and ran a radio transmitter which established contact with SWPA and Fertig.[7]^:76,78–80, 127 Many Silliman students, alumni, faculty members and ROTC officers joined the resistance forces numbering 10,811 men.[7]^:166 The Bell family was evacuated by the USS Narwhal (SS-167) on 7 February 1944.[7]^:155–160	[8][9]
Donald Dunwoody Blackburn (1916-2008)	11th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Army (11th Division, USAFFE). Did not join USAFIP surrender; evaded Bataan Death March. Joined Russell Volckmann. Helped organize Igorot guerrillas. Commanded 11th Infantry Regiment, USAFIP-NL.	[10] [11]
John P. Boone	US Army corporal[1]^:11 and wartime guerrilla colonel who formed the Bataan Military District that conducted intel work and sabotage. Recipient, Distinguished Service Cross.	[12]
William E. Bowen (1905-1944)	Technical Sergeant, 228th Signal Corps. Joined Troop C, 26th Cavalry Regiment retreating from Camp John Hay. Became guerrilla. Captured April 1943. MIA in Japanese prison ship torpedoed by US Navy.	[13]
Robert V. Bowler	US Army officer. Guerrilla leader on Mindanáo.
James Patrick Boyd	US Army; guerrilla on Luzon.[1]^:20	[1]
Alfred Bruce	Sergeant, Philippine Scouts, US Army. Guerrilla captain, 2nd Battalion, Provisional Regiment of Philippine Scouts, which operated in Zambales Mountains under Thorp.[1]^:14	[1]
Parker Calvert	Major, commanded the 1st District under Volckmann.	[6]
James W. Carrington	US Marine PFC, stationed on Corregidor. Captured after surrender of Corregidor. Escaped from Bilibid Prison, saved by Moises and Jesus Gonzales. Became Commandant of the Headquarters and Security Detachment of the East Central Luzon Guerrilla Army Forces; engaged the Japanese for which he later received the Army Distinguished Service Cross. Retired from USMC as captain in 1958. In 2008 Jesus Gonzales visited Carrington at Destrehan nursing home, 11 days before Carrington died.	[14] [15] [16] [17]
Henry Clay Conner, Jr. (1918-2008)	US Army officers Conner and Anderson founded Squadron 155 (composed mainly of Aetas working for the Japanese air corps) that worked on collecting intel info. Conner's personal army consisted of several hundred Negritos.[1]^:94–95 He married the sister of the Negrito chief, Kodario Laxamana.[1]^:101	[18]
James M. Cushing	Mining engineer and brother of Walter and Charles.[1]^:38 As combat officer of the guerrilla Cebu Area Command, he was commissioned lt. col. and officially recognized as commander of the 8th Military District by SWPA GHQ, Australia.[7]^:113 His "unit was disgraced" by Capt. Harry Fenton's "brutality and dissoluteness".[1]^:106	[19]
Walter Mickey Cushing	Civilian mining executive. Organised his miners and joined forces with Lt. Robert Arnold.[1]^:109 His brother, Lt. Charles Cushing, ran another guerrilla camp,[3]^:89 which included the gold miners Herb Swick and Enoch French,[1]^:55 as Barker's Pangasinan district commander, but as a Capt. in 1943, he surrendered after they imprisoned his wife.[1]^:36,55 French was later captured.[1]^:65 Walter moved in and out of Manila disguised as a priest, Father Navarro.[3]^:63 His men made one of the first guerrilla attacks on a Japanese convoy on 1 January 1942, which killed 60 and destroyed ten trucks with supplies, months before the Fall of Bataán.[6]^:30–31 After more impressive successes, he was commissioned captain by Col. Horan, and his group incorporated into Horan's 121st Infantry Regiment, Philippine Army.[6]^:31–32 He published The Echo of the Free North, based on news from San Francisco.[6]^:32 Bayoneted to death by the Kempeitai at Manila North Cemetery on 2 October 1943,[3]^:183 though Volckmann claims he was killed in a Japanese ambush at Jones, Isabela.[6]^:35–36	[20]
Doyle Decker	Member of the 155th Provisional Guerrilla Battalion which operated in Central Luzón. Operated with Robert Mailheau and Frank Gyovai, under Lt. Clay Conner's command.[1]^:46,100–101,113	[21]
Alvin J. Farretta	Guerrilla Capt. on Luzon, awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.[4]^:220	[22]
Harry Fenton (1907 – 1 September 1943)	Administrative officer of the guerrilla Cebu Area Command.[7]^:104–113 His extreme repressive measures and punitive actions against suspected collaborators, fueled by fanatic hatred against the Japanese, led to his execution by Filipinos.[23]	[24]
Wendell W. Fertig	US Army colonel, overall guerrilla commander on Mindanáo, with 33,000 men.[1]^:226 His divisional commanders included Capt. Charles Hedges (108th plus Chief of Staff), James Grinstead (109th), Frank McGee (106th), Lt. Col. Robert Bowler (105th)[25]^:7, 307 Capt. Ernest McClish (110th), and Capt. Clyde Childress (107th).[1]^:110 Fertig, with Aaron Bank, and Russell Volckmann, founded the US Army Special Forces.	[26][27]
Richard R. Green	Civilian, along with Swick, escaped from Camp Holmes, and joined the USAFIP-NL in April 1943.[6]^:148	[6]
Edward James Haggerty	Jesuit priest. Joined guerrillas on Mindanao.	[28]
Jack Hawkins	Lieutenant, 4th Marine Regiment, Corregidor. Interned at Cabanatuan POW camp. Transferred to Davao Penal Colony, escaped, joined guerrillas on Mindanao.	[29]
Albert Hendrickson	Signal Corps private who became a wartime guerrilla captain under Robert Lapham, commanding the Tarlac province.[1]^:26,60 Conducted the Itogon Mine Raid in October 1942.[4]^:166 Captured Tarlac City on 16 January 1945.[4]^:188	[1]
John P. Horan	US Army colonel. Commander, John Hay Air Base.[4]^:80–81 Formed the 121st guerrilla regiment.[6]^:29 Surrendered after the Fall of Corregidor.[6]^:32	[30]
Ray C. Hunt	Far East Air Force sergeant, Provisional Air Corps Regiment infantryman in the Battle of Bataan, and wartime guerrilla captain under Robert Lapham.[1]^:26,68	[31]
Thomas S. Jones	US Army lt.[6]^:35 Sole survivor of Ralph Praeger's Troop C, 26th Cavalry Regiment, Philippine Scouts. Captured with Praeger.[6]^:151–152	[6]
Dick Lang	PFC, US Army Air Corps. Maintenance crewman, 19th Bomber Group, Clark Field. Became guerrilla leader on Mindanáo.	[32]
Robert Lapham	US Army Philippine Scouts lieutenant and wartime guerrilla major on Luzón of 14,191 men.[1]^:226 Commander of the Luzon Guerrilla Army Forces. Warned Gen. Krueger of impending massacre of prisoners at Cabanatuan POW camp. Recipient, Philippine Legion of Honor.	[1]
Frank R. Loyd		[12]
Ralph McGuire	US Army captain and civilian engineer.[1]^:14–15 Commander of Western Luzon Guerrilla Area of Thorp's Luzon Guerrilla Force.[1]^:36 Killed April 1943 by Negritos.[1]^:54	[2]
Harry McKenzie	Former mining superintendent and trusted subordinate of Lapham.[1]^:29,38–39	[1]
Steve Mellnik		[33]
Gyles Merrill	Col. guerrilla commander on West Luzón.[1]^:35 After leaving the camp run by William, Vernon and Catalina Fassoth, he was joined by Col. Peter Cayler, and Capt. George E. Crane, Capt. Kadel, Pvt. Leon Beck, Johnny Johns, and Raymond Herbert.[1]^:37,105	[12]
Martin Moses and Arthur Noble	US Army lieutenant colonels in the 12th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Army and then the 11th Division, USAFFE[1]^:54 who escaped to Benguet after Fall of Bataán.[6]^:82–83 Organised United States Army Forces in the Philippines - Northern Luzon. Attacked Itogon Mines. Captured 3 June 1943, and executed three months later.[4]^:83	[1]
Arthur Murphy	Head of intelligence under Volckmann.[6]^:181	[6]
John O'Day	Former Brooklyn policeman who led a group of irregulars in Ilocos Norte, and feuded with Capt. Fermin Bueno's group.[1]^:109 Organized the 15th Infantry under Volckmann.[6]^:153	[2]
Yay Panlilio	She was a journalist with the Philippines Herald before the war. Marcos Augustin's, Marking's 12,000 guerrillas,[1]^:226 mistress and "brains of the outfit" operating near Manila.[1]^:70 The Marking's guerrillas had fierce "feuds" with the Hunters guerrillas, led by Eleuterio "Terry" Adeviso, resulting in "gunfights, kidnapping, and even executions."[1]^:108–109	[34]
Ralph B. Praeger	US Army captain. Commander, Troop C, 26th Cavalry Regiment, Philippine Scouts, that operated in northeastern Luzón.[6]^:34 Operated a radio transmitter, and formed a guerrilla force with two Lts., Thomas Jones and Warren A. Minton, that included his troop plus disbanded Philippine Army troops, which then raided Japanese airfields at Tuguegarao, Cagayan, and Aparri.[6]^:35 After the Fall of Bataán, joined his force with Gov. Marcelo Adduru's Cagayan-Apayao Forces. Northern Luzon commander under Thorp.[1]^:36 Captured in Apayao in July 1943;[3]^:226 executed in Manila, December 1944.	[35]
Charles Putnam	Mining engineer who received an emergency commission as a capt., and then recruited guerrillas in the Lingayen Gulf area.[1]^:57	[1]
Edwin Price Ramsey	US Army lieutenant and guerrilla leader on Luzón of 13,000-14,000 men.[1]^:226 Commanding a platoon of the 26th Cavalry Regiment, Philippine Scouts,[36] ordered the US Cavalry's last charge, 16 January 1942, in Moróng, Bataán.[37] Commander of East Central Luzon Guerrilla Area. Took over Thorp's region after the capture of Thorp and Barker, which included Pierce Wade[1]^:56,111 Recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross and the Philippine Legion of Honor. Ramsey was succeeded by Col. Mario Pamintuan as commander of guerrilla forces in northwest Pampanga,[1]^:18 when Major Ramsey moved his central headquarters to the vicinity of Manila.[1]^:63	[38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43]
Royal Reynolds	Major, Philippine Scouts, US Army. Commander, 3rd Battalion, Provisional Regiment of Philippine Scouts, which operated in Zambales Mountains.
Iliff David Richardson	US Navy ensign, wartime US Army major, guerrilla intelligence officer in the Visayan Islands, and chief-of-staff under guerrilla Colonel Ruperto Kangleon.	[44]
Grafton Spencer	Private, commanded the 2nd Battalion of the 66th Infantry under Calvert, but killed by the Japanese in April 1944.[6]^:149	[6]
Jack Spies	26th Cavalry Regiment captain who joined Claude Thorp's Luzon Guerrilla Force as commandeder of Southern Luzon.[1]^:35–36 Killed by Japanese.	[1]
Joseph St. John	One of Richardson's guerrilla radio operators on Leyte.[44]^:170	[45]
Hugh Straughn	US Army retired colonel. Organised Fil-American Irregular Troops (FAIT) which operated in Rizál. Executed by the Japanese August 1943.[1]^:63	[1]
Herbert Swick	Civilian gold mining engineer who evaded the Japanese, and then joined the guerrillas in October 1942. Captured in early 1943, he escaped and joined the USAFIP-NL in April 1943.[46]^:553	[46]
Claude A. Thorp	US Army Maj. Provost Marshall, Fort Stotsenburg.[1]^:13 Assigned by MacArthur to conduct intelligence operations in the Zambales Mountains during the Battle of Bataan. Formed Luzon Guerrilla Force after the fall of Bataán with his secretary and lover, Herminia Dizon or "Minang".[1]^:14 Captured on 29 October 1942, 30 km west of Tarlac (Nom de guerre was Crabtree),[3]^:68–72,134 along with his radioman Bill Brooks.[1]^:54 Bayoneted to death by the Kempeitai at Manila North Cemetery on 2 October 1943.[3]^:183	[2]
Carlyle Townswick	Guerrilla on Mindanáo.[47]
Russell William Volckmann	US Army officer, Philippine Commonwealth Army regimental officer in the Battle of Bataan. Escaped through Japanese lines with Blackburn. Became the commander of United States Army Forces in the Philippines - Northern Luzon, with 22,000 men by the end of the war.[1]^:226 He sought to bring the other guerrilla organizations on Luzón under his command, but was resisted by other commanders, notably Robert Lapham.[1]^:112–113 Korean War special operations officer. Post-war, authored US Army field manuals on guerrilla warfare.[48] With Aaron Bank and Wendell Fertig, co-founder of the US Army Special Forces.	[49] [50]
Everett Warner	Major who operated a radio in Northern Luzon, but surrendered[1]^:35,140 after the Fall of Corregidor.[6]^:130	[1]
Eddie Wright	Lt. col., 45th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Scouts, US Army. Organised Provisional Regiment of Philippine Scouts, Mountain Group Command, which operated in Zambales Mountains.

Notes

1. Lapham, R., and Norling, B., 1996, Lapham's Raiders, Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, ISBN 0813119499.
2. Lapham, R., and Norling, B., 1996, Lapham's Raiders, Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, ISBN 0813119499
3. Harkins, P., 1956, Blackburn's Headhunters, London: Cassell & Co. LTD
4. Hunt, Ray & Bernard Norling, 1986, Behind Japanese Lines: An American Guerrilla in the Philippines, University of Kentucky Press, ISBN 0-8131-1604-X
5. Hunt, Ray & Bernard Norling, 1986, Behind Japanese Lines: An American Guerrilla in the Philippines, University of Kentucky Press, ISBN 0-8131-1604-X
6. Volckmann, Russell, 1954, We Remained: three years behind enemy lines in the Philippines, New York: W.W. Norton, ISBN 9780393350227
7. Mills, S.A., 2009, Stranded in the Philippines, Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, ISBN 9781591144977
8. Mills, Scott, Stranded in the Philippines, Naval Institute Press, 2009.
9. Smith, Steven Trent, 2001, The Rescue: a true story of courage and survival in World War II, Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley. ISBN 0-471-41291-0. ISBN 0-471-42351-3
10. Harkins, Philip, Blackburn's Headhunters, New York: W.W. Norton, 1955.
12. Schaefer, Chris, 2004, Bataan Diary, Houston: Riverview, 2004. ISBN 0-9761084-0-2
13. William Bowen
15. photo & reunion video
16. The Times-Picayune
17. Citation
18. Welch, Bob, 2012, Resolve, New York: Berkley Caliber, 2012.
19. Cebu Guerrillas in WW 2
20. Maj. Walter M. Cushing
21. Decker, Malcolm, On a Mountainside: the 155th Provisional Guerrilla Battalion against the Japanese on Luzon, Las Cruces, New Mexico: Yucca Tree Press, 2004. ISBN 978-1881325741.
22. Hunt, Ray & Bernard Norling, 1988, Behind Japanese Lines: An American guerrilla in the Philippines, Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-64960-4
23. "Instituting a reign of terror and persecution, Fenton engaged in a series of reckless and injudicious actions which alienated many of his officers. On 15 September he was tried and executed and his command was reorganized." -Guerrilla Activities in the Philippines
24. Mills, Scott, Stranded in the Philippines: Professor Bell's private war against the Japanese, Naval Institute Press, 2009. ISBN 9781591144977. ISBN 9789711005191.
25. Keats, J., 1963, They Fought Alone, New York:J.B. Lippincott Company
26. Keats, John, They Fought Alone: a true story of a modern American hero, Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1963; Pocket Books, 1965.
27. Lukacs, John, 2010, Escape From Davao: the forgotten story of the most daring prison break of the Pacific War, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010; NAL Trade, 2011. ISBN 0451234103.
28. Haggerty, Edward, Guerrilla Padre in Mindanao, New York: Longmans, Green, 1946.
29. Hawkins, Jack, Never Say Die, Philadelphia: Dorrance, 1961.
30. Hunt, Ray & Bernard Norling, 1988, Behind Japanese Lines: an American guerrilla in the Philippines, Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-64960-4
31. Hunt, Ray & Bernard Norling, 1988, Behind Japanese Lines: an American Guerrilla in the Philippines, Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-64960-4
32. Rudi, Norman, 2003, Lang: the WWII story of an American guerrilla on Mindanao, Philippine Islands, McMillen, 2003. ISBN 1-888223-52-9
33. Mellnik, Steve, Philippine Diary 1939-1945, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1969.
34. Panlilio, Yay, The Crucible, New York: Macmillan, 1950; New Brunswick: Rutgers, 2010.
35. Norling, Intrepid Guerrillas of North Luzon.
36. ordered by Gen. Wainwright to retake Morong from the Japanese
37. "It is not hyperbolic to contend that without the 26th's delaying actions on Luzon -a textbook and innovative campaign studied in modern war colleges- MacArthur might never have had the time to escape the Philippines..." -Peter Stevens
38. Official Website of Edwin Price Ramsey
39. excerpts
40. Stevens, Peter, 2011, The Twilight Riders: the last charge of the 26th Cavalry, Guilford, Connecticut: Lyons, Globe Pequot.
41. Ramsey & Rivele, 1990, Lieutenant Ramsey's War, New York: Knightsbridge, 1990; Washington DC: Potomac, 1990; Washington: Brassey's, 1996.
42. Schaefer, Chris, 2004, Bataan Diary, Houston: Riverview, 2004.
43. Ongpauco, Fidel, "Col. Edwin Ramsey: Great 'defender' of Bataan," in Bulletin Today, 16 Mar 1982.
44. Wolfert, I., 1945, American Guerrilla in the Philippines, New York: Simon and Schuster
45. Leyte Calling.
46. Smith, R.R., 2005, Triumph in the Philippines, Honolulu: University Press of the Pacific, ISBN 1410224953.
47. In 1971, Townswick received a heart transplant and was one of the first to undergo a successful procedure; he died in 1978.
48. Operations Against Guerrilla Forces and Organization and Conduct of Guerrilla Warfare
49. Volckmann, Russell, We Remained.
50. Guardia, Mike, American Guerrilla.

Bibliography

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• Breuer, William, MacArthur's Undercover War, Hoboken, New Jersey: Castle, 1995.
• Decker, Malcolm, From Bataan to Safety: the rescue of 104 American soldiers in the Philippines, McFarland, 2008. ISBN 978-0786433964.
• Guardia, Mike, American Guerrilla: the forgotten heroics of Russell W. Volckmann, Havertown, Pennsylvania / Newbury, England: Casemate, 2010. ISBN 1935149547. ISBN 9781935149545.
• Guardia, Mike, Shadow Commander: the epic story of Donald D. Blackburn, Havertown, Pennsylvania / Newbury, England: Casemate, 2011.
• Guerrilla Activities in the Philippines
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• Guerrilla Resistance Movement in Northern Luzon, Quezon City: Office of Military History, Armed Forces of the Philippines.
• "Guerrillas in the Philippines",
• Harkins, Philip, Blackburn's Headhunters, New York: W.W. Norton, 1955.
• Keats, John, They Fought Alone: a true story of a modern American hero, Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1963.
• Lapham, Robert & Bernard Norling, 1996, Lapham's Raiders: guerrillas in the Philippines, 1942-1945, Lexington: University Press of Kentucky.
• Mills, Scott, Stranded in the Philippines: Professor Bell's private war against the Japanese, Naval Institute Press, 2009. ISBN 9781591144977.
• Norling, Bernard, 1999, The Intrepid Guerrillas of North Luzon, Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-2118-3
• Ramsey, Edwin Price & Stephen Rivele, 1990, Lieutenant Ramsey's War: from horse soldier to guerrilla commander, New York: Knightsbridge, 1990; Washington, DC: Potomac Books, 1990; Washington: Brassey's, 1996. ISBN 1-57488-052-7.
• Richardson, Hal, One-Man War: the Jock McLaren story, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1957.
• Schaefer, Chris, Bataan Diary: an American family in World War II, 1941-1945, Houston: Riverview Publishing, 2004. ISBN 0-9761084-0-2.
• Schmidt, Larry, American Involvement in the Filipino Resistance Movement on Mindanao During the Japanese Occupation, 1942-1945, MMAS thesis, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: US Army Command and General Staff College, 1982.
• Segura, Manuel, Tabunan: The Untold Exploits of the Famed Cebu Guerrillas in World War II.
• Sinclair, Peter Thomas, Men of Destiny: the American and Filipino guerrillas during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, School of Advanced Military Studies, US Army.
• Special Operations in the Pacific
• Spencer, Louise Reid, Guerrilla Wife, New York, Thomas Y. Crowell, 1945.
• St. John, Joseph, Leyte Calling, New York: Vanguard, 1945.
• Utinsky, Margaret, "Miss U", San Antonio: Naylor, 1948.
• Volckmann, Russell William, We Remained: three years behind the enemy lines in the Philippines, New York: W. W. Norton, 1954.
• Whitehead, Arthur Kendal, Odyssey of a Philippine Scout, Bedford, Pennsylvania: Aberjona, Aegis. ISBN 0-9717650-4-9
• Willoughby, Charles Andrew, The Guerrilla Resistance Movement in the Philippines, 1941-1945, New York: Vantage, 1972.
• Wise, William, Secret Mission to the Philippines, E.P. Dutton, 1968; iUniverse, 2001. ISBN 0-595-19809-0