Memorial Day 2025
WWII HEROES PROJECT 2025
SERGEANT EVERETT R. BROOKS: AN AMERICAN WWII GUERRILLA LEADER IN TARLAC
Bamban WWII Museum Heroes Hall
May 26, 2025 is an American federal holiday, the Memorial Day, honoring military personnel who died in combat serving in the armed forces. As an American ally in WWII, at Bamban WWII Museum, we deemed it very important in researching, preserving and promoting American soldiers who fought and died in our Tarlac Province; the names of Lt. Col. Claude A. Thorpe, 2nd Lt. James H. Hart, Staff Sgt. Eugene Zhingeim and Major Havelock Nelson. I have written about these Americans officers and men, who became prominent guerrilla leaders and organizers during WWII in Tarlac, and were either captured or killed in Bamban and Capas, or south of Tarlac Province. It is just fitting that the Bamban WWII Museum is also dedicated to these American guerrilla leaders for their sacrifices and ultimate price they paid for freedom. For us, it is always Memorial Day at the Bamban WWII Museum, as their legacy of heroism are manifested and memorialized.
Today is American Memorial Day, and it is just fitting to remember those names and others who are unknowns but had made the ultimate sacrifice fighting in Tarlac during WWII. In the pursuit of finding these American unknowns, I was led to the name SERGEANT EVERETT R. BROOKS, during my research on the American guerrillas of Tarlac some years ago. It was just now that with the help of friends and acquaintance in WWII History; James Weaver and John Duresky, for their help in providing me additional information about the life and death of a forgotten American guerrilla leader in Tarlac. May this article be of fitting tribute and a memorial to Sgt. Everett R. Brooks.
Forgotten American Hero
In the settlement of Bueno, O’Donnell, Capas, Tarlac, after crossing the O’Donnell (Patling) River, is a forgotten history when on the morning of February 17, 1943, an American guerrilla leader of Tarlac Province, Sgt. Everett R. Brooks made the final stand near the riverbanks of the O’Donnell, shooting Japanese raiders crossing the river in the pursuit to capture him, until expending the last bullets of his M1928 Thompson sub-machine gun he carried since the day he left Bataan in January 1942. Sgt. Brooks was operating in Tarlac Province as commander of all USAFFE Guerrilla Forces, an appointment made by Lt. Col. Thorpe at the Pinatubo Headquarters in May 1942. The year 1943 was a devastating period for the USAFFE guerrillas, with the massive manhunt and pursuit operations against the resistance, their leaders and organizers which ultimately led to the capture and death. Instead of destruction of the resistance, it was a reborn, and a more potent guerrilla forces energized with the local support of the Filipino population and led to the eventual victory of the Filipino-American forces with the return of General MacArthur in October 1944 in Leyte and in Luzon in January 1945.
Military Man
Everett R. Brooks was born on November 29, 1915 at Prophetstown, Illinois. He enlisted in December 12, 1939 and was given the serial number 6938045 with the United States Army Air Corps. With the looming war against Japan, he was shipped to the Philippines as Private First Class and was posted with the 28th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 19th Bombardment Group (Heavy), assigned at Clark Field, as part of the ground echelon. When the war broke out on December 8, 1941 and Clark Field and its aircraft were destroyed by marauding Japanese Air Force fighters and bombers, PFC Brooks found himself pressed into auxiliary infantry. He later found himself at Bataan in early January 1942, after evacuating Clark Field. At Bataan, he was attached to the group of Lieutenant Colonel Claude A. Thorpe, who was acting as Provost Marshall of North Luzon Force under General King. In Bataan, he was promoted to Sergeant and became part of the 803rd Military Police Company, 1st Corps. Along with 4 officers and 9 enlisted men, Sgt. Brooks was with Lt. Robert Lapham, Capt. Bernard Anderson, Sgt. Alfred D. Bruce, Herminia Dizon and other Filipino soldiers. Having secured a verbal communication to organize guerrilla units behind enemy lines, Sgt. Brooks journey into guerrilla forces begun as he became the personal bodyguard of Lt. Col. Thorpe, finding himself in line of combat when this Thorpe’s Guerrillas conducted ambuscades on Japanese convoy in the vicinity of Olongapo, Zambales. Sgt. Brooks, with his Thompson submachine gun, killed six enemy in this combat engagement.
With the Guerrillas at Pinatubo and Tarlac
Thorpe’s Guerillas crossed the boundary and into Pampanga Province, establishing headquarters in Mt. Timbo, and later near the slope of Mt. Pinatubo, where guerrilla organizations were established in the lowlands. In May 1942, the original officers and men of Lt. Col. Thorpe were directed to organize guerrillas and Sgt. Brooks left the headquarters and was assigned in north Pampanga and Tarlac Province, became the provincial commander of all USAFFE guerrilla forces in Tarlac with Gerundio Tapulayan as District Commander (District No. IV) operating in south of the province covering the towns of Bamban and Capas. In the latter half of 1942, Sgt. Brooks was busy in organizing the local guerrillas along with Filipinos, until the early 1943, when he was joined by Capt. Wilbur J. Lage (Adjutant to Col. Thorpe) and Sgt. Rudoph O. Bolstad (A Company, 194th Tank Bn). At the time, 2nd Lieutenant James H. Hart was already operating in Bamban Hills along with the Squadron 101 of Bamban. Sgt. Brooks headquarters was established northwest of O’Donnell (Patling), Capas, Tarlac, in the vicinity of Sitio Bueno.
Last Stand on O’Donnell River
Being the USAFFE guerrilla commander of Tarlac, Sgt. Brooks met Lt. Col. Thorpe, when the latter made his trip to Sta. Juliana on September 2, 1942 accompanied by Sgt. William Brooks and Herminia Dizon, where he (Col. Thorpe) established his headquarters in Mt. Pugad Babi after the successive Japanese raids on his Pinatubo hideouts. The Japanese pursuit on guerrilla leaders had become prevalent, with spies looking for the American guerilla leaders. On October 29, 1942, Col. Thorpe and his party of guerrillas were captured near Maanot, west of Tarlac town. Capt. Lage and Sgt. Bolstad remained at the headquarters of Sgt. Brooks until January 1943. By February 1943, the two were still in the area surrounding the barrio of O’Donnell, and were near proximity where Sgt. Brooks made his last stand near Bueno.
Prisoner of War
On the morning of February 17, 1943, Sgt. Brooks was on a nipa house located near the edge of the riverbanks of the O’Donnell, in Sitio Bueno. His location was revealed by certain Mr. Byanni (Mr. Bayani?), who was the chief of police, to the Japanese. The Japanese made a dashing rain on the whereabouts of Sgt. Brooks, and a stiff fight ensued on the river-crossing and the resistance fighter. With his ammunition expended to the last. Sgt. Brooks was captured by the Japanese, brought to the house of Vicente Frias, and later became a prisoner at the Tarlac Elementary School until May 17, 1943. The following day, he was transferred to the prison cell of Fort Stotsenburg in Angeles, before he was led to Manila to join the other American guerrillas captured and imprisoned including Lt. Col. Thorpe. In Manila, he was believed to have been imprisoned at the old Bilibid and later executed by the Japanese secretly.
Death of Sgt. Brooks
The U.S. War Department had conducted rigorous investigation as to the death of Sgt. Everett R. Brooks, and I was fortunate to have the information through the Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) provided by James Weaver. Numerous interviews were conducted from among key American guerrilla officers and leaders who may had knowledge of Sgt. Brooks, including Maj. Wilbur Lage, Capt. Raymond C. Hunt, Jr., Major Robert B. Lapham and Lt. Herminia Dizon. U.S. War Department considered Sgt. Brooks as “Missing-In-Action” since the surrender of Corregidor in May 7, 1942 until February 16, 1943 and as Prisoner-Of-War (POW) form February 17, 1943 to December 31, 1944. Finally, on the official Report of Burial submitted by the Quartermaster General on April 7, 1952, Sgt. Brooks remains were “Non-Recoverable”. Since his remains were never recovered, his presumed date of date given by the U.S. War department was on February 1, 1946, while the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) has his death on November 1, 1943. Another date listed was at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, on April 1, 1946. On the final report of the Department of the Army dated August 4, 1954, he was “Killed-In-Action” on December 31, 1944 at Fort Santiago, Manila.
In Memoriam
Last February 22, 2025, on the occasion of the 80th Anniversary of Liberation of Manila, I brought the portrait of Sgt. Everett R. Brooks at the American Cemetery and Memorial, and saw his name etched on the Tablet of the Missing. It was a fitting tribute to carry the portrait of this American guerrilla leader in my province of Tarlac, to honor him for his ultimate sacrifice during one of the darkest days in our Nation’s History in WWII.
On this day, I will be attending the American Memorial Day at Clark Veterans Cemetery, and we will also bring the portrait of Sgt. Everett R. Brooks, in his honor and remembrance, and all the Filipino and American military personnel who fought and died in WWII.
CITATION:
(1) Dizon, Herminia S. Complete Data Covering the Guerrilla Activities of the Late Claude A. Thorpe, Box 258, Entry 1094. Manuscript. Record Group 407, National Archives, College Park, Maryland.
(2) 293 Brooks, Everett R., Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF), Bamban Historical Society Collection, Bamban WWII Museum, Bamban, Tarlac. *Special thanks to James Weaver.
(3) Headquarters South Tarlac Military District STMD, Luzon Guerrilla Force, Bruce Guerrillas, File No. 286-1, US National Archives NARA, College Park, MD.
PHOTOS:
(a) Portrait of Sgt. Everett R. Brooks. Courtesy of John Duresky.
(b) Portrait of Sgt. Brooks at the Bamban WWII Museum. Rhonie Dela Cruz photo.
(c) Report of Death, Everett R., Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF).
(d) Tablet of the Missing, American Cemetery and Memorial. Photo by Rhonie Dela Cruz.
(e) Portrait of Sgt. Brooks at the American Cemetery and Memorial, February 22, 2025.
(f) Portrait of Sgt. Brooks at the American Cemetery and Memorial, February 22, 2025.
(g) Vicinity of Sta. Juliana and O’Donnell, area of Sgt. Brooks during his stay at the southern Tarlac in 1942.
(h) Appointment Letter of Serafin Punsalan, signed by Sgt. Brooks dated October 3, 1942.
(i) Mountain Pass between Bamban and O’Donnell, near Flora. This is the same mountain trail that Lt. Col. Thorpe and Sgt. Brooks used in 1942. Rhonie Dela Cruz photo.
(j) Gravestone in Memory of Everett R. Brooks.
