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Lieutenant Ramsey's War: From Horse Soldier to Guerrilla Commander
After the fall of the Philippines in 1942 - and after leading the last horse cavalry charge in U.S. history - Ed Ramsey refused to surrender. Instead, he joined the Filipino resistance and rose to command more than 40,000 guerrillas. The Japanese put the elusive American leader at the top of their death list. Rejecting the opportunity to escape, Ramsey withstood unimaginable fear, pain, and loss for three long years. Lieutenant Ramsey's War chronicles a remarkable true story of courage and perseverance.
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
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About the author
Edwin Price Ramsey
4 booksLieutenant Colonel Edwin Price Ramsey was a United States Army officer and guerrilla leader during the World War II Japanese occupation of the Philippines. During the early part of the war, he led the last American cavalry charge in military history.
Edwin Ramsey was born in Carlyle, Illinois. The family moved, first to El Dorado, Kansas, when he was two, and then to Wichita ten years later. Ramsey graduated from Oklahoma Military Academy in Claremore, Oklahoma, in May 1938. He attended the University of Oklahoma, but left to enlist in the United States Army in 1941.
In February 1941, Second Lieutenant Ramsey was assigned to the 11th Cavalry Regiment at Campo, California. When volunteers were requested for the 26th Cavalry Regiment (Philippine Scouts) in the Philippines, he jumped at the opportunity. Ramsey recalled later that "... I didn't even know where it was, except that it was a warm country, it was tropical and they had a good polo team there." He had been on the Oklahoma Military Academy polo team and played on the losing side of a polo match in the Philippines the day before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor; the umpire was Major General Jonathan M. Wainwright (who would assume command of the South West Pacific Area after General Douglas MacArthur was evacuated to Australia).
As a first lieutenant during the withdrawal to Corregidor in the Philippines Campaign, he was in command of the 27-man, mostly Filipino G Troop when they encountered the enemy in the village of Morong on the Bataan peninsula on January 16, 1942. Despite being heavily outnumbered by an infantry force supported by tanks, Ramsey ordered the last cavalry charge in American military history. The surprised Japanese broke and fled. Ramsey and his men held their position for five hours under heavy fire, until reinforcements could be brought up. He would later be awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart for this action.
After the fall of Bataan, Ramsey and Captain Joseph Barker made their way to central Luzon and joined Lieutenant Colonel Claude Thorp, who had been given the task of organizing guerrilla resistance by MacArthur. Luzon was divided into four regions, and Barker was given responsibility for the East Central Luzon Guerrilla Area (ECLGA), extending from Manila to the Lingayen Gulf. After Thorp was captured by the Japanese in October 1942, Barker took his place, putting Ramsey in charge of the ECLGA. Barker himself was eventually caught and executed by the Japanese. The guerrilla force under Ramsey's command grew to nearly 40,000. They fought using captured and hand-made weapons ("We made arms out of sawed-off pipes that we used as shotguns."), gathered intelligence and distributed propaganda.
On June 13, General MacArthur personally awarded Ramsey the Distinguished Service Cross for his guerrilla activities. Ramsey, already a major by 1943, was promoted to lieutenant colonel shortly before being ordered back to the United States. The ordeal in the Philippines had taken its toll – he had lost half his weight and was down to only 93 pounds (42 kg) in January 1945 – and he spent nearly a year recovering from malaria, dysentery, and acute malnutrition in the hospital. Lieutenant Colonel Ramsey received a medical discharge in 1946.
Ramsey obtained a law degree at the University of Oklahoma. He was a vice president of Hughes Aircraft Corporation's Far East division in Japan. He later headed electronics and consulting firms in Taiwan and the Philippines. When he retired, he settled in California.He co-wrote his memoirs, Lieutenant Ramsey's War: From Horse Soldier to Guerrilla Commander, published in 1990.
Edwin Ramsey was born in Carlyle, Illinois. The family moved, first to El Dorado, Kansas, when he was two, and then to Wichita ten years later. Ramsey graduated from Oklahoma Military Academy in Claremore, Oklahoma, in May 1938. He attended the University of Oklahoma, but left to enlist in the United States Army in 1941.
In February 1941, Second Lieutenant Ramsey was assigned to the 11th Cavalry Regiment at Campo, California. When volunteers were requested for the 26th Cavalry Regiment (Philippine Scouts) in the Philippines, he jumped at the opportunity. Ramsey recalled later that "... I didn't even know where it was, except that it was a warm country, it was tropical and they had a good polo team there." He had been on the Oklahoma Military Academy polo team and played on the losing side of a polo match in the Philippines the day before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor; the umpire was Major General Jonathan M. Wainwright (who would assume command of the South West Pacific Area after General Douglas MacArthur was evacuated to Australia).
As a first lieutenant during the withdrawal to Corregidor in the Philippines Campaign, he was in command of the 27-man, mostly Filipino G Troop when they encountered the enemy in the village of Morong on the Bataan peninsula on January 16, 1942. Despite being heavily outnumbered by an infantry force supported by tanks, Ramsey ordered the last cavalry charge in American military history. The surprised Japanese broke and fled. Ramsey and his men held their position for five hours under heavy fire, until reinforcements could be brought up. He would later be awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart for this action.
After the fall of Bataan, Ramsey and Captain Joseph Barker made their way to central Luzon and joined Lieutenant Colonel Claude Thorp, who had been given the task of organizing guerrilla resistance by MacArthur. Luzon was divided into four regions, and Barker was given responsibility for the East Central Luzon Guerrilla Area (ECLGA), extending from Manila to the Lingayen Gulf. After Thorp was captured by the Japanese in October 1942, Barker took his place, putting Ramsey in charge of the ECLGA. Barker himself was eventually caught and executed by the Japanese. The guerrilla force under Ramsey's command grew to nearly 40,000. They fought using captured and hand-made weapons ("We made arms out of sawed-off pipes that we used as shotguns."), gathered intelligence and distributed propaganda.
On June 13, General MacArthur personally awarded Ramsey the Distinguished Service Cross for his guerrilla activities. Ramsey, already a major by 1943, was promoted to lieutenant colonel shortly before being ordered back to the United States. The ordeal in the Philippines had taken its toll – he had lost half his weight and was down to only 93 pounds (42 kg) in January 1945 – and he spent nearly a year recovering from malaria, dysentery, and acute malnutrition in the hospital. Lieutenant Colonel Ramsey received a medical discharge in 1946.
Ramsey obtained a law degree at the University of Oklahoma. He was a vice president of Hughes Aircraft Corporation's Far East division in Japan. He later headed electronics and consulting firms in Taiwan and the Philippines. When he retired, he settled in California.He co-wrote his memoirs, Lieutenant Ramsey's War: From Horse Soldier to Guerrilla Commander, published in 1990.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 28, 2015
Lieutenant Ramsey's War: From Horse Soldier to Guerrilla Commander by Edwin Price Ramsey is a remarkable military memoir, which inspires the reader with the author’s personal tussle with the hardships of war and overcoming them with courage, sense of duty and the extremes of human endurance. This is a book, which while describing the personal story of Ed Ramsey will introduce the reader to the South West Pacific theatre of World War II and the engagements between Allied forces and Japan.
When the Japanese forces invaded The Commonwealth of the Philippines on 8th December 1941, Philippines was under the control of United States of America. Ed Ramsey was a U.S. Army cavalry officer in the 26th Cavalry Regiment, Philippine Scouts at that time. When the Japanese Invasion came, the 24 years old Ed Ramsey – with only a few months of active duty until then - found his dreams of seeking an exotic foreign post, rich with tropical plants, polo ponies, fawning servants and dusky women turning upside down with the merciless realities of war.
His first act of courage came on January 16, 1942 while covering the withdrawal of U.S. and Filipino forces into the Bataan Peninsula on Luzon. At the village of Morong, Ramsey led 27 members of his mounted unit against hundreds of Japanese troops in a mission aimed at delaying the advancing enemy forces. Inspiring and fueling his vastly outnumbered men with bravery alone he and his troop audaciously charged at the enemy, with their heads low over their horses' necks and madly firing their pistols, and successfully drove back the advancing Japanese infantry while defending the village for five arduous hours in mayhem of blood and fire. This brave engagement at Morong will be remembered forever, as it was the last horse-mounted cavalry charge in the US military history.
But his epic life story contributing to the history of Philippines and the course of war at the pacific theater of World War II was only beginning. When the combined American-Filipino army acknowledged their defeat in April 1942, Ed Ramsey did not surrender; he eluded capture by the Japanese and joined with Col. Claude Thorp who was organizing a guerrilla resistance force out of what left of American & Filipino army. ‘Lieutenant Ramsey's War’ from this point onwards describes in detail how a clever and resourceful junior officer grew within the ranks of this guerrilla army and led them for three years in activities of subterfuge and sabotage against the Japanese - all the while braving his own personal war against malaria, anemia, and acute malnutrition and infection - until the return of regular American forces in 1945. The book captures the gripping and often poignant moments from these guerrilla warfare days – days rife with bravery, survival, action, misery, fear and mortal danger - with splendid simplicity.
‘Lieutenant Ramsey's War’ is an incredible book that blends both historical and personal moments. This is not just a war memoir, it also gives the reader insights into some key moments from Ramsey’s personal life – like the death of his father and its effect on the family; his close relationship with his mother and sister; their struggles to keep up with life; the story of his brave sister pursuing her dream of becoming a pilot; circumstances which led to his career as a cavalry officer– which allows him to understand Ed Ramsey both as a person and as a military hero. I conclude this review with an excerpt from an Interview, which he gave in 2001.
When the Japanese forces invaded The Commonwealth of the Philippines on 8th December 1941, Philippines was under the control of United States of America. Ed Ramsey was a U.S. Army cavalry officer in the 26th Cavalry Regiment, Philippine Scouts at that time. When the Japanese Invasion came, the 24 years old Ed Ramsey – with only a few months of active duty until then - found his dreams of seeking an exotic foreign post, rich with tropical plants, polo ponies, fawning servants and dusky women turning upside down with the merciless realities of war.
His first act of courage came on January 16, 1942 while covering the withdrawal of U.S. and Filipino forces into the Bataan Peninsula on Luzon. At the village of Morong, Ramsey led 27 members of his mounted unit against hundreds of Japanese troops in a mission aimed at delaying the advancing enemy forces. Inspiring and fueling his vastly outnumbered men with bravery alone he and his troop audaciously charged at the enemy, with their heads low over their horses' necks and madly firing their pistols, and successfully drove back the advancing Japanese infantry while defending the village for five arduous hours in mayhem of blood and fire. This brave engagement at Morong will be remembered forever, as it was the last horse-mounted cavalry charge in the US military history.
But his epic life story contributing to the history of Philippines and the course of war at the pacific theater of World War II was only beginning. When the combined American-Filipino army acknowledged their defeat in April 1942, Ed Ramsey did not surrender; he eluded capture by the Japanese and joined with Col. Claude Thorp who was organizing a guerrilla resistance force out of what left of American & Filipino army. ‘Lieutenant Ramsey's War’ from this point onwards describes in detail how a clever and resourceful junior officer grew within the ranks of this guerrilla army and led them for three years in activities of subterfuge and sabotage against the Japanese - all the while braving his own personal war against malaria, anemia, and acute malnutrition and infection - until the return of regular American forces in 1945. The book captures the gripping and often poignant moments from these guerrilla warfare days – days rife with bravery, survival, action, misery, fear and mortal danger - with splendid simplicity.
‘Lieutenant Ramsey's War’ is an incredible book that blends both historical and personal moments. This is not just a war memoir, it also gives the reader insights into some key moments from Ramsey’s personal life – like the death of his father and its effect on the family; his close relationship with his mother and sister; their struggles to keep up with life; the story of his brave sister pursuing her dream of becoming a pilot; circumstances which led to his career as a cavalry officer– which allows him to understand Ed Ramsey both as a person and as a military hero. I conclude this review with an excerpt from an Interview, which he gave in 2001.
“I look back and think of myself as a soldier, not as a hero, I just had a temperament that made it impossible for me to surrender.”
May 15, 2021
Really cool book! I’m a total geek for all things related to WWII so this was such a good read in my opinion!
June 4, 2021
Amazing book that tells one of the most amazing War stories that I have ever read. This book kept me captivated the entire way thru.
October 12, 2021
I cannot fully wrap my head around all the events in this book. We can all only hope there is never again a war like WW2, the way things are going I don’t have a lot of confidence.
January 7, 2015
In some ways, this is a standard US WW2 memoir. But, Ramsey ended up taking a major role in the Philippine resistance movement in central Luzon during the Japanese occupation, so his story is much different, and this book was published far later than many other memoirs.
For those who are not fans of Douglas MacArthur, the story of Ramsey's non-meeting with him makes a great anecdote.
In the strange coincidence department, I actually read the comic book version of the story in 1964, many years before this book was published.
For those who are not fans of Douglas MacArthur, the story of Ramsey's non-meeting with him makes a great anecdote.
In the strange coincidence department, I actually read the comic book version of the story in 1964, many years before this book was published.
May 4, 2016
Dear Stephen:
In 1942, my friend Angus Lorenzen at the age of seven was interned with his family at Santo Tomas by the Japanese. Ed Ramsey's story brought tears to my eyes. It is very well written. General Douglas MacArthur's promise to the the Philippine people was on their minds and mine in those years 1942 - 1945. Edwin Ramsey has passed on. So, I have been hoping somehow to meet with Stephen J Rivele for a short visit to discuss the events of that time. I never learned about them during my school days.
Daniel B Banks IV, San Gabriel, CA. (BanksDB@aol.com)
In 1942, my friend Angus Lorenzen at the age of seven was interned with his family at Santo Tomas by the Japanese. Ed Ramsey's story brought tears to my eyes. It is very well written. General Douglas MacArthur's promise to the the Philippine people was on their minds and mine in those years 1942 - 1945. Edwin Ramsey has passed on. So, I have been hoping somehow to meet with Stephen J Rivele for a short visit to discuss the events of that time. I never learned about them during my school days.
Daniel B Banks IV, San Gabriel, CA. (BanksDB@aol.com)
November 13, 2009
Stuck on the Philippines after the US surrender in 1942, Edwin Ramsey set out to escape the Japanese. Along the way, he transformed himself into the leader of the guerrilla resistance on the islands, leading covert operations against the Japanese for over 3 years.
Ramsey's story is amazing, and should be mandatory reading at every service school and military officer training program.
Ramsey's story is amazing, and should be mandatory reading at every service school and military officer training program.
February 18, 2014
Good read for an overlooked history of guerrilla in WW II Luzon. Almost unbelievable courage and dedication.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews