TY  - BOOK
AU  - Keats, John
TI  - They fought alone
SN  - (hardbound)
PY  - 1963///
CY  - London : 
PB  - Secker & Warburg
KW  - Fertig, Wendell W.
KW  - United States. Army
KW  - Biography
KW  - Guerrilla warfare
KW  - Guerrillas
KW  - Philippines
KW  - United States
KW  - Soldiers
KW  - World War, 1939-1945
KW  - Underground movements
KW  - Mindanao Island
KW  - Mindanao Island (Philippines)
KW  - History, Military
N2  - This work tells the story of Wendell Fertig, guerrilla leader in Mindanao. By a professional writer who worked for four years together with Col. Fertig, the story is told in the form of a novel, although the author claims to have tried to maintain accuracy: to gain a feel for the place, Keats, together with Fertig, visited Mindanao to look at the sites Fertig was active in.

Fertig, a military engineer who was in Luzon helping build tunnels and airfields for the USAFFE in 1941, was sent to Mindanao to help in the construction of other airfields in anticipation of American bombers. None came, and the USAFFE surrendered. Rather than follow orders, Fertig first laid low, hoping for the war to end, then became active in the resistance movement in Mindanao, eventually taking over as commander of what became the 10th Military District, recognized by MacArthur. The organization of the guerrilla movement, including various personalities of different faiths, as well as ingenuity in producing ammunition and other basic needs (including guerrilla money) are well described.

The book dramatically tells Fertig’s story, but by focusing on (and relying on) Fertig, the other leaders of the Mindanao guerrillas are not given due credit (some are even unjustly criticized). It also suffers from misspellings (for example, right in the introduction, kaibigan is misspelled as kaibegan) and errors in geography.

The copy in the Hall collection is the British edition of the book, (the book was first published in the US in 1963 by J.B. Lippincott). - Prof. Ricardo T. Jose
ER  -