-
1932 without having assumed his new post¯
1st Lieutenant Jose TANDO, PC; GO 11, HPC, March 6, 1926; MSS
(Mindanao-Sulu Campaign) for "securing the surrender of Datu
Santiago and other outlaws" in 1924. DSS medal received July 1931.
Tando commanded a constabulary battalion on Bataan in 1942 and was
one of the few PA recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross,
the United States Army’s second highest award for valor. Tando also
won the Silver Star and after the war received the PA equivalents
to these American medals [source: A. R Pefia, Bataan’s Own (Manila,
1967)].
Brigadier General Basilio J. VALDES, PC; GO 48, HPC, November
14, 1935 (same ceremony as MANLEY; GO from Reynolds). Valdes, by
training a medical doctor, was the last chief of constabulary
(1934-35) and future PA chief of staff (1939-45). His DSS
recognized his services in "the reorganization and the raising of
the present state of the efficiency of the Philippine Constabulary"
[quoted in K&R (December 1935), p. 52].
Major Benito D. VALERIANO, PC; shown as DSS
recipient in the Official Constabulary Register for
1929 but not in Baja. K&R (March 1926) lists him
as an original recipient of the MSS (Mindanao-Sulu
Campaign) for "special ability and good judgment
in disbanding without bloodshed a number of
outlaw bands" in Surigao in 1924. Valeriano was
included as a medal recipient in the July 1931
ceremony, but he is the officer shown wearing a
full-size medal in the May 1929 issue of K&R.
He is one of the few Filipino officers included in
Elarth, who confirms the award of the DSS and
notes Valeriano’s surrender to the Japanese in May
1942 and subsequent "murder." The implication
is that the Japanese killed him, but Valeriano was
one of four men sent by the Japanese to negotiate
the surrender of Philippine-American forces on
Negros Island. The four were shot dead by a PA
corporal whose name became a rallying cry for
anti-collaborationists [source: B.N. Viloria, They
Carried On! (Manila, 1998)].
Colonel Louis J. Van SCHAICK, USA, Ret.; GO 11, HPC, March 8,
1935 [GO from Reynolds]. Van Schaick (the "a" in Schaick is
pronounced "o," or so my wife, who is from the same small town in
upstate New York that the colonel was from, informs me) was a Medal
of Honor recipient
(a failed West Point cadet who ended up with a commission in
1899 before his former classmates graduated in 1900) who served as
an adviser to several governors-general in the 1930s. Admiral Frank
C. Upham, commander-in-chief of the Asiatic Fleet, awarded the DSS
in Manila on 12 March 1935, for "running down ladrones in Luzon ¯ .
. between June 1901 and September 1906" (source: K&R [April
1935], pp. 2-3). The late historian Lewis Gleeck described Van
Schaick as a "trouble shooter" for one governor general,
"experienced and capable, but some of his energies were devoted to
efforts to be named vice-governor general or chief of constabulary"
(source: Gleeck, The American Governors-General and High
Commissioners in the Philippines [Quezon City, 1986]). Van Schaick
retired in the Philippines in 1934 and died in an army hospital
shortly after being liberated in 1945.
Colonel Ole WALOE, PC; GO 42, HPC, 17 December 1929; the other
former PC officer (retired 1924) to receive the DSS, for "efficient
administration while District Commander of Mindanao and Sulu" and
for "services in the field at Bayang Cotta, Lanao, and at the
Gurain fight." Baja adds, in what was apparently meant to be a slap
at other recipients, that Waloe "fully deserved" the medal: "He
earned it in the field--not sitting in the office issuing orders."
Medal received July 1931.
5|ARK YOUR CALENDARS
OMSA 2008 CONVENTION
AUGUST 14-17~ 2008
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26 JOMSA
-
TRAPPED BEHIND ENEMY LINES
Barney Mattingly
Many British soldiers were trapped behind the German lines
during the Retreat from Mons. These men lived as best they could,
evading the enemy while surviving with the help of the local
population. Some were quickly captured or killed while others
persevered. This is the story of one such soldier.
Figure 1: Claude Henry Bushell.
Claude Henry Bushell (Figure 1) was born on March 21, 1891 in
the district of Claro, North Yorkshire. After attending the Royal
Military College, Sandhurst, he was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in
the Queen’s Bays (2nd Dragoon Guards) on February 4, 1911 and
promoted Lieutenant on June 30, 1913. Bushell was commanding No. 2
Troop, C Squadron when the Great War started.
For deployment to France, the regiment, along with the 5th
Dragoon Guards and the 1 lth Hussars, were combined to form the 1
st Cavalry Brigade, commanded by Brigadier General C. J. Briggs
(later General Officer Commanding, XVI Corps). The brigade crossed
the English Channel aboard the Minneapolis on August 16, 1914 and
disembarked the next day. From there, they moved to Mons, arriving
at Solre-sur-Sambre on August 19. In doing so, the regiment briefly
held the distinction of being the furthest deployed unit in the
British Expeditionary Force. On the 21 st, the entire brigade
advanced north
to Havre where, that evening, A Squadron fired upon a group of
Germans moving along their front. This was the regiment’s first
shots of the war.
The British Expeditionary Force’s first major battle occurred
onAugust 23 near Mons. The Germans attacked in great strength,
overwhelming the Allies and driving them back. The 1 st Cavalry
Brigade initially was held in reserve and it was not until
nightfall that they received orders to act as rearguard to the
retreating infantry. Over the course of the next two days the
brigade covered the withdrawal, being repeatedly fired upon while
turning back enemy patrols (Figure 2). As a result of the fluid
situation, the brigade’s headquarters were overextended and
additional staff was required. To assist, Bushell was temporarily
assigned to General Briggs as a "galloper," responsible for
delivering orders to units within the brigade.
Figure 2: Route of the Queen’s Bays
during the retreat from Mons in August 1914.
Vol. 59, No. 1 27
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It was while acting as a galloper that Bushel1 became
separated from the British for..ces on August 26 near the
village of Escaufort, just south of Le Cateau. Lieutenant General
H. L. Smith-Dorrien and Major General E. H. H. Allenby met at 2:00
AM on August 26 to discuss the state of affairs. The British had
become badly scattered and Allenby’s opinion was that unless they
continued the retreat that night, they would be compelled to engage
the Germans the next day. Smith-Dorrien agreed and decided that his
II Corps, along with Allenby’s Cavalry Division, would make a stand
at Le Cateau. The ensuing battle was dominated by the artillery,
which succeeded in slowing the enemy’s progress. The Cavalry played
a supporting role but casualties were relatively light. The British
continued their withdrawal that evening and were able to regroup
over the next few days.
Bushell had ridden forward on the afternoon of August 26th with
orders for the llth Hussars to fall back to St. Quentin. After
delivering these instructions to their headquarters, he advanced
further to notify their patrols. In doing so, Bushell passed
through the lines unscathed and soon found himself surrounded by
Germans. Bushell was forced to release his horse and hide in a
drain at the bottom of a railway embankment, where he remained for
three days without food or water. As the Germans continued their
advance, their numbers thinned and, by the evening of August 29th,
he was able to crawl out of his hiding place to make contact with
villagers from Honnechy. They provided him with some food but,
while eating, a peasant warned him that German soldiers were
approaching, compelling Bushell to once again take cover among some
nearby hedges.
While still in hiding, Bushell was informed by a villager that
there were other concealed British soldiers. As an officer, Bushell
felt it was his duty to take charge of these men. Wearing some
borrowed civilian clothes over his uniform, he marched to their
location and encountered Serjeant Taylor and ten men of the 1 lth
Hussars. They remained in a plantation for the next eight days,
repeatedly eluding German patrols while being greatly aided by the
local inhabitants, including the Mayor of Honnechy, who hid them,
fed them, and scouted a way for the small party to make their
escape. These scouts returned with the unfortunate news that all
surrounding towns were occupied and that any move was perilous.
Bushell decided to relocate the group to an abandoned hut on the
western edge of the ForYt de Mormal (Forest of Mormal) (Figure 3),
where they soon were joined by other Allied soldiers. The forest
was large and densely wooded with heavy undergrowth, offering the
soldiers an
excellent hiding place. Bushell found himself in charge of 35
men representing several regiments, including the 11 th Hussars,
Royal Artillery, Manchester Regiment, Gordon Highlanders, Scots
Greys, Munster Fusiliers, and the King’s Own Scottish Borders.
There they remained for the next month, being fed by the locals
while constantly under the threat of capture.
Figure 3: The Forest of Mormal.
One night, Bushell, two soldiers, and a Frenchman crept out of
the forest in an attempt to destroy a railway bridge alont the line
running from Le Cateau to Maubeuge. The bridge, though, was heavily
guarded and the small party was nearly captured.
Figure 4: Priucess Marie de Croft.
At the start of October, the Germans became aware that British
soldiers were concealed in the area and Bushell decided that they
had to move south to another part of the forest. It was while there
that Bushell first met Princess Marie de Cr@ (Figure 4), a Belgian
noblewoman
28 JOMSA