The Filipino Guerrilla Resistance against the Japanese is probably the greatest guerrilla resistance in history, and one of the most costly. As twenty percent of the people in that country died during the Japanese occupation. Their bravery and tenacity was unbelievable. As a result, many smaller islands and major portions of larger islands were already free of Japanese control even before the arrival of U.S. liberation forces in 1944.
What made this resistance really interesting was that in many cases guerrilla units which included Americans were commanded by Filipino officers. And many units were commanded by U.S. Army reserve officers who were civilian engineers working in the Philippines and recalled to active duty. For example Wendell Fertig commanded a guerrilla force on Mindanao which eventually numbered 30,000 men and women. If you can find a copy of "They Fought Alone" by John Keats which describes the guerrilla resistance on Mindanao, read it, or read Colonel Fertig's page on Wikipedia.
I have an entire shelf of books written by or about the American and Filipino participants of this resistance. Many of these books were published in 1945-46 and never published again.
This book has very little information about the guerrilla fighting and covers the day-to-day life of civilians living in the jungle, constantly moving to avoid Japanese raids. At first, I thought I was going to find it boring, but I was eventually caught up in Louise Spencer's story. Their struggle in getting enough food and shelter, despite the sacrifices of their Filipino neighbors and friends, the diseases that frequently plagued them and killed some, the deaths of their friends due to Japanese raids were all part of the totally different life style they had to adapt to. I was surprised to read that she and her husband's best friends on their over two year 'adventure' were Claude and Laura Fertig. Claude was not only a civilian engineer who joined the resistance, but was also Wendell Fertig's brother.
While reading the book I met a Filipino-American woman who visited a state park I volunteer at. I shared the experiences of my time in the Philippines with her and my interest in the Filipino guerrilla resistance. She blew me away when she began to tell me of all the members of her family who were killed during the war. Her grandmother only survived one Japanese raid by feigning death and hiding under the bodies of her fellow villagers massacred by Japanese soldiers.
What made this resistance really interesting was that in many cases guerrilla units which included Americans were commanded by Filipino officers. And many units were commanded by U.S. Army reserve officers who were civilian engineers working in the Philippines and recalled to active duty. For example Wendell Fertig commanded a guerrilla force on Mindanao which eventually numbered 30,000 men and women. If you can find a copy of "They Fought Alone" by John Keats which describes the guerrilla resistance on Mindanao, read it, or read Colonel Fertig's page on Wikipedia.
I have an entire shelf of books written by or about the American and Filipino participants of this resistance. Many of these books were published in 1945-46 and never published again.
This book has very little information about the guerrilla fighting and covers the day-to-day life of civilians living in the jungle, constantly moving to avoid Japanese raids. At first, I thought I was going to find it boring, but I was eventually caught up in Louise Spencer's story. Their struggle in getting enough food and shelter, despite the sacrifices of their Filipino neighbors and friends, the diseases that frequently plagued them and killed some, the deaths of their friends due to Japanese raids were all part of the totally different life style they had to adapt to. I was surprised to read that she and her husband's best friends on their over two year 'adventure' were Claude and Laura Fertig. Claude was not only a civilian engineer who joined the resistance, but was also Wendell Fertig's brother.
While reading the book I met a Filipino-American woman who visited a state park I volunteer at. I shared the experiences of my time in the Philippines with her and my interest in the Filipino guerrilla resistance. She blew me away when she began to tell me of all the members of her family who were killed during the war. Her grandmother only survived one Japanese raid by feigning death and hiding under the bodies of her fellow villagers massacred by Japanese soldiers.
