Remind me to tell you : a history of Major Harry J. Fleeger and his friends, POWs of the Japanese / John H. Bradley
Title
Remind me to tell you : a history of Major Harry J. Fleeger and his friends, POWs of the Japanese / John H. Bradley
Subject
Fleeger, Harry J.
Prisoners of war--Japan--Diaries.
Prisoners of war--Philippines--Diaries.
World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Philippines.
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American.
Description
This tells the story of a West Point graduate (1931) who was assigned to the 26th Cavalry (Philippine Scouts) in 1939, fought in the Philippine defense campaign, became a prisoner of war, and died on an unmarked Japanese prison ship.
Based on diaries and letters loaned to him by Fleeger’s son, Bradley reconstructs Fleeger’s pre-war life, the start of the war (Major Fleeger was S-1, or personnel officer of the 16th Cavalry), the desperate fighting of the regiment to stem the Japanese advance, and withdrawal to Bataan. He also recounts the operations of the regiment’s Company C, which was cut off but continued to fight and became the nucleus of one of the first guerrilla organizations in northern Luzon. Bradley continues on with Fleeger’s experiences as a prisoner of the Japanese – the Death March, Camp O’Donnell, Cabanatuan, and eventual death on the prison ship Arisan Maru, which was torpedoed by a US submarine. In addition to telling Fleeger’s story, Bradley also follows the experiences of other 26th Cavalry officers and men and the other Japanese hell ships.
The book’s title comes from a cryptic word which appeared continually in Fleeger’s diary: Reutel, which meant Remind Me to Tell You Later. Unfortunately, Fleeger would never be able to do this, although Bradley tries hard to fill in the blanks.
The author is a West Point graduate who was born and raised in the Philippines, and was interned with his parents in Santo Tomas Internment Camp.
Based on diaries and letters loaned to him by Fleeger’s son, Bradley reconstructs Fleeger’s pre-war life, the start of the war (Major Fleeger was S-1, or personnel officer of the 16th Cavalry), the desperate fighting of the regiment to stem the Japanese advance, and withdrawal to Bataan. He also recounts the operations of the regiment’s Company C, which was cut off but continued to fight and became the nucleus of one of the first guerrilla organizations in northern Luzon. Bradley continues on with Fleeger’s experiences as a prisoner of the Japanese – the Death March, Camp O’Donnell, Cabanatuan, and eventual death on the prison ship Arisan Maru, which was torpedoed by a US submarine. In addition to telling Fleeger’s story, Bradley also follows the experiences of other 26th Cavalry officers and men and the other Japanese hell ships.
The book’s title comes from a cryptic word which appeared continually in Fleeger’s diary: Reutel, which meant Remind Me to Tell You Later. Unfortunately, Fleeger would never be able to do this, although Bradley tries hard to fill in the blanks.
The author is a West Point graduate who was born and raised in the Philippines, and was interned with his parents in Santo Tomas Internment Camp.
Creator
Bradley, John H.
Publisher
Houston, TX : Reutel Press, c2010
Date
2010
Format
28 x 22 cm.
Type
Softbound
Identifier
9780578071763
Call Number
D 767.4 B733 2010
Accession Number
15671
Pagination
x, 380 p.
Illustration
ill., maps
Files
Collection
Citation
Bradley, John H., “Remind me to tell you : a history of Major Harry J. Fleeger and his friends, POWs of the Japanese / John H. Bradley,” FHL-Roderick Hall, accessed November 11, 2025, https://fhl.omeka.net/items/show/151.