Romans had legionaires, Japanese had samurai, and the Filipinos had-Jungle Warriors!?

[Sun_Helmet]

Fernando Keithley

Account of Fernando Keithley's death is written about in SWISH OF THE KRIS by Vic Hurley and in DON'T SETTLE FOR SECOND by C. Smith.

Couple of inconsistencies from the account you listed and the books.


By Vic Hurley. Details from Pages 169 -170 of SoK:

Fernando Keithley (spelled 'Kiethley' in the book) was being chased by 20 Moros in the book. He had already received a terrible wound from the first attack that killed his comrades.

There was no mention of him killing all 22 Moros.

That would be quite a feat and would have been mentioned often in other books. It would certainly gain a lot of attention in military journals.

Hurley did mention that the mere retreat Keithley accomplished and staying alive that long against such krismen was already an " almost impossible feat of valor".

The three soldiers with Keithley were Sergeant Stevens, and two Privates - Burke and Bowser.

Cornelius Smith, DON'T SETTLE FOR SECOND page 53 -54:

Keithley ran 3/4 of a mile to post before he fell "at last before the awful slashes of the kris."

Keithley's fighting skill enabled him to fend off his attackers by "parrying sword slashes and spear thrusts" long enough to escape. Quite a tremendous feat in itself.

"Fearing the arrival of some reinforcements from Camp Maranui, the Moros drew off."

"Keithley was found a little while later in a widening pool of his own blood."

This happened after the death of Datu Hassan. Hassan was captured by American troops in November 14, 1903. It was a dispute over Moros registering to the American forces. The Moros didn't understand why they had to register to a foreign power in their own land. They had already gone through this with Spain. Hassan escaped when a detachment of krismen burst from concealment in a hut and "with ear shattering yells, the wedge of krismen drove through the American column to their captured leader."

Hassan was later killed when he was cornered at a crater of an extinct volcano. His two krismen were picked off by snipers. Hassan tried to engage the American troops singlehandedly and was riddled with bullets by the soldiers.
------

Keithley's Murderers

It was 8 years after the death of Keithley at the outpost in Taraca before the Moros responsible for his death were captured. This was led by Cornelius Smith.

I can't see why inhabitants of Mindanao would name an island for Keithley.

"A US camp Marahui was renamed Camp Keithley in his honor." Page 54 in Smith's book.

Keithley's murderers were Amai Lobanku and four others. One named murderer was never found.

They were all tried, found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.

--Rafael--
Sayoc kali

[Sun_Helmet]

Fernando Keithley

Account of Fernando Keithley's death is written about in SWISH OF THE KRIS by Vic Hurley and in DON'T SETTLE FOR SECOND by C. Smith.

Couple of inconsistencies from the account you listed and the books.


By Vic Hurley. Details from Pages 169 -170 of SoK:

Fernando Keithley (spelled 'Kiethley' in the book) was being chased by 20 Moros in the book. He had already received a terrible wound from the first attack that killed his comrades.

There was no mention of him killing all 22 Moros.

That would be quite a feat and would have been mentioned often in other books. It would certainly gain a lot of attention in military journals.

Hurley did mention that the mere retreat Keithley accomplished and staying alive that long against such krismen was already an " almost impossible feat of valor".

The three soldiers with Keithley were Sergeant Stevens, and two Privates - Burke and Bowser.

Cornelius Smith, DON'T SETTLE FOR SECOND page 53 -54:

Keithley ran 3/4 of a mile to post before he fell "at last before the awful slashes of the kris."

Keithley's fighting skill enabled him to fend off his attackers by "parrying sword slashes and spear thrusts" long enough to escape. Quite a tremendous feat in itself.

"Fearing the arrival of some reinforcements from Camp Maranui, the Moros drew off."

"Keithley was found a little while later in a widening pool of his own blood."

This happened after the death of Datu Hassan. Hassan was captured by American troops in November 14, 1903. It was a dispute over Moros registering to the American forces. The Moros didn't understand why they had to register to a foreign power in their own land. They had already gone through this with Spain. Hassan escaped when a detachment of krismen burst from concealment in a hut and "with ear shattering yells, the wedge of krismen drove through the American column to their captured leader."

Hassan was later killed when he was cornered at a crater of an extinct volcano. His two krismen were picked off by snipers. Hassan tried to engage the American troops singlehandedly and was riddled with bullets by the soldiers.
------

Keithley's Murderers

It was 8 years after the death of Keithley at the outpost in Taraca before the Moros responsible for his death were captured. This was led by Cornelius Smith.

I can't see why inhabitants of Mindanao would name an island for Keithley.

"A US camp Marahui was renamed Camp Keithley in his honor." Page 54 in Smith's book.

Keithley's murderers were Amai Lobanku and four others. One named murderer was never found.

They were all tried, found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.

--Rafael--
Sayoc kali

[Garland]

this may be off topic, but how many of you guys have seen "Farwell to the King".

[Keithley]

Details on Furnando Keithley

I wanted to address some of these inconsistencies. Vic Hurley's book was written in 1938. Cornelius Smith's book was written in 1977.

Some of my information comes directly from newspaper accounts.

One written to the Editor of the National Tribune (date unknown) by Fred C. Emery, Secretary, 28th Infantry Association. This lengthy account was written for the annual reunion of the 28th Infantry Association. "Musician Luther B. Walker, who went to school with Pvt. Keithley and who enlisted with him, was his bunkie and who sounded the call to arms on the night of the attack... He is the present bugler of the 28th Infantry Association."

"A large band of Moros, armed mostly with bolos, spears, krisses, and campolongs, the latter being a heavy two-handed sword several feet long, first cut the ropes of the tent, which fell in on the three other members of the guard and they were quickly hacked to pieces and Pvt. Keithley was left alone to battle the swarm of Moros in the darkness. He tried to fight his way back to camp, shooting and reloading and shooting again and again, also fighting with his bayonet. The fact that he was an athletic solider with a bayonet made the attack costly for the Moros and 22 of them were found dead at the outpost and along the trail back toward the camp. Others who were carried away by their friends died later....The Moros who had not already been killed by Keithley vanished into the darkness. Pvt. Keithley passed away the next day." He alerted the post and Musician Luther B. Walker sounded the alarm.

"The Army camp, then known as Camp Marahui,was renamed by order of the War Department, Camp Keithley. Later, when it was made into a permanent Army post, it was called Fort Keithley....This was the first Army post in the history of the United States that was named for an enlisted man."

This was from The Washington Post Thursday, March 2, 1905

IN HONOR OF KEITHLEY
________________________________
Camp in Mindanao Named for Private
Killed by Moros.

The temporary military station at Marahui, Mindanao, Philippine Islands, has been designated as Camp Keithley in honor of the late Private Fernando Keithley, Company H, Twenty-eighth infantry, who was killed by hostile Moros in a night attack on the outposts near Marahui November 14, 1903.
Private Keithley displayed most heroic and soldierly qualities in action with a band of about twenty Moros who attacked an outpost of four men, of which he was a member, about midnight on November 14, 1903. Three members of the outpost were killed in the first rush and he was repeatedly wounded. He managed however, to beat off the attack and fell back, fighting constantly for nearly three-quarters of a mile. He eventually reached the post literally cut to pieces and gave the alarm dying almost immediately afterward.

In all probability since the Philippines were under a U.S. governor, some representatives of the U.S. government, War Department or Congress are probably the ones who named an island after Keithley. This was written in his sisters hand in her bible. We have not yet located information on what other awards or honors, Keithley received. There is also a plaque in Washington, D.C. although we do not know where it is. There is also a Keithley Memorial at Camp Keithley in the Philippines, although I do not know what it says.

There was also the Overton-Keithley railroad and supposedly a road or street was also named after Furnando Keithley. (That is how he spelled it.).

How do you have information on the Moros who killed Keithley? Was this in Cornelius Smith's or Vic Hurley's book?

Keithley

Account of Fernando Keithley's death is written about in SWISH OF THE KRIS by Vic Hurley and in DON'T SETTLE FOR SECOND by C. Smith.

Couple of inconsistencies from the account you listed and the books.


By Vic Hurley. Details from Pages 169 -170 of SoK:

Fernando Keithley (spelled 'Kiethley' in the book) was being chased by 20 Moros in the book. He had already received a terrible wound from the first attack that killed his comrades.

There was no mention of him killing all 22 Moros.

That would be quite a feat and would have been mentioned often in other books. It would certainly gain a lot of attention in military journals.

Hurley did mention that the mere retreat Keithley accomplished and staying alive that long against such krismen was already an " almost impossible feat of valor".

The three soldiers with Keithley were Sergeant Stevens, and two Privates - Burke and Bowser.

Cornelius Smith, DON'T SETTLE FOR SECOND page 53 -54:

Keithley ran 3/4 of a mile to post before he fell "at last before the awful slashes of the kris."

Keithley's fighting skill enabled him to fend off his attackers by "parrying sword slashes and spear thrusts" long enough to escape. Quite a tremendous feat in itself.

"Fearing the arrival of some reinforcements from Camp Maranui, the Moros drew off."

"Keithley was found a little while later in a widening pool of his own blood."

This happened after the death of Datu Hassan. Hassan was captured by American troops in November 14, 1903. It was a dispute over Moros registering to the American forces. The Moros didn't understand why they had to register to a foreign power in their own land. They had already gone through this with Spain. Hassan escaped when a detachment of krismen burst from concealment in a hut and "with ear shattering yells, the wedge of krismen drove through the American column to their captured leader."

Hassan was later killed when he was cornered at a crater of an extinct volcano. His two krismen were picked off by snipers. Hassan tried to engage the American troops singlehandedly and was riddled with bullets by the soldiers.
------

Keithley's Murderers

It was 8 years after the death of Keithley at the outpost in Taraca before the Moros responsible for his death were captured. This was led by Cornelius Smith.

I can't see why inhabitants of Mindanao would name an island for Keithley.

"A US camp Marahui was renamed Camp Keithley in his honor." Page 54 in Smith's book.

Keithley's murderers were Amai Lobanku and four others. One named murderer was never found.

They were all tried, found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.

--Rafael--
Sayoc kali

[Keithley]

Furnando Keithley questions

If you have any additional sources of where to find out more about Furnando Keithley and Cornelius Smith's hunting down his killers, let us know. This was the first I had heard that Cornelius Smith had tracked down his killers. Furnando Keithley was a member of the 28th Infantry. Wasn't Smith a member of the 14th?

Furnando was under age when he enlisted. His two brothers fought with Teddy Roosevelt in Cuba in the Spanish American War. I understand that some soldiers received the Congressional Medal for extending their tour in the Philippines. The NARA site explains that one woman who's son had earned the Congressional Medal of Honor had to write the War Department to obtain the Congressional Medal. Accounts in the newspapers indicate that the War Department tried to get in touch with Keithley's parents, but that they could not locate them. The people who administered Furnando's pension were able to find them, but not the War Deparment who awarded medals. This young man fought courageously against overwhelming odds and he was honored by a nation, but his parents never received his medals, citations or awards. They never knew where the the plaque in Washington honoring Keithley was placed. They never knew what the memorial at Camp Keithley in the Philippines said.

(one letter says that every single American Legion Hall has his picture. "At Fort Carson , Colorado, where the 28th was eventually stationed, have a large trophy room which they have named Keithley Hall, with a large painting of Pvt. Keithley, Col. Donald R. War, present commander of the 28ty Inf. is very proud of the picture and every man in the regiment is familiar with the heroic fight put up by one of the original members of the regiment. Since Nov. 13, 1903, many brave men have died heroic deaths in the uniform of the 28th Inf. and the regiment is now one of the most famous in the Army, but few if any have surpassed the record made by Pvt. Fernando Guy Keithley (his name was actually Guy Furnando Keithley), who died defending his country when the regiment was young."

Keithley

Account of Fernando Keithley's death is written about in SWISH OF THE KRIS by Vic Hurley and in DON'T SETTLE FOR SECOND by C. Smith.

Couple of inconsistencies from the account you listed and the books.


By Vic Hurley. Details from Pages 169 -170 of SoK:

Fernando Keithley (spelled 'Kiethley' in the book) was being chased by 20 Moros in the book. He had already received a terrible wound from the first attack that killed his comrades.

There was no mention of him killing all 22 Moros.

That would be quite a feat and would have been mentioned often in other books. It would certainly gain a lot of attention in military journals.

Hurley did mention that the mere retreat Keithley accomplished and staying alive that long against such krismen was already an " almost impossible feat of valor".

The three soldiers with Keithley were Sergeant Stevens, and two Privates - Burke and Bowser.

Cornelius Smith, DON'T SETTLE FOR SECOND page 53 -54:

Keithley ran 3/4 of a mile to post before he fell "at last before the awful slashes of the kris."

Keithley's fighting skill enabled him to fend off his attackers by "parrying sword slashes and spear thrusts" long enough to escape. Quite a tremendous feat in itself.

"Fearing the arrival of some reinforcements from Camp Maranui, the Moros drew off."

"Keithley was found a little while later in a widening pool of his own blood."

This happened after the death of Datu Hassan. Hassan was captured by American troops in November 14, 1903. It was a dispute over Moros registering to the American forces. The Moros didn't understand why they had to register to a foreign power in their own land. They had already gone through this with Spain. Hassan escaped when a detachment of krismen burst from concealment in a hut and "with ear shattering yells, the wedge of krismen drove through the American column to their captured leader."

Hassan was later killed when he was cornered at a crater of an extinct volcano. His two krismen were picked off by snipers. Hassan tried to engage the American troops singlehandedly and was riddled with bullets by the soldiers.
------

Keithley's Murderers

It was 8 years after the death of Keithley at the outpost in Taraca before the Moros responsible for his death were captured. This was led by Cornelius Smith.

I can't see why inhabitants of Mindanao would name an island for Keithley.

"A US camp Marahui was renamed Camp Keithley in his honor." Page 54 in Smith's book.

Keithley's murderers were Amai Lobanku and four others. One named murderer was never found.

They were all tried, found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.

--Rafael--
Sayoc kali

[Sun_Helmet]

I wanted to address some of these inconsistencies. Vic Hurley's book was written in 1938. Cornelius Smith's book was written in 1977.

Some of my information comes directly from newspaper accounts.

The book was written by Smith's son, a retired Marine Corps colonel.
However, Cornelius Smith was " a first-class chronicler of events. His files burgeoned with documents of all kinds: official reports, diaries, letters, telegrams and a number of handwritten unpublished munscripts bearing upon his long career."

The reports were directly taken from his father's reports and records.
So yes, the book was printed in 1977 but the accounts were written from first hand perspective at the time they happened. Specifically, the accounts of tracking down and taking Keithley's killers to justice. In the book, the accounts were stated to be taken directly from Smith's diaries. The accuracy transcends the newspaper accounts in many ways because Smith is able to name and list the names of the actual killers.

You can get a more in-depth account from Smith's book.

Smith was "in the Philippines scarcely five weeks..." when the Keithley murder happened.

The Newspaper account you quoted matches the books. There's no indication Keithley killed 20 Moros but he did manage to make it back to the post before he was cut down. A considerable achieivement in itself, especially when one has read about the tenacity and fighting skill of the Moros. One must note that Cornelius Smith was a well decorated Indian fighter before coming to the islands. He placed the Moros fighting skills above that of the Apaches he had fought.

Hopefully Keithley's family will be able to receive the medals and honors you mention.

" In hand-to-hand combat our soldiers are simply no match for the Moro. If our first shot misses the target, we rarely have time to get off another." Cornelius Smith, page 48

As per regiment. Major H. A. Barber of the 28th was temporarily in command of the post Keithley died at. Major Barber personally contacted Smith to track down Keithley's killers. It is to Smith's credit that he never gave up the search for Keithley's murderers, even though it took him seven years.

Btw, Hurley's book has many inconsistencies and it tends to become flowery and oft times full of hyperbole. Smith's book does not agree with Hurley's on the place of Keithley's death. Smith states that Keithley died in the Maranui hospital due to his wounds... not in the "widening pool of blood" as Hurley wrote.

On a sidenote, my own personal belief is that Oliver Stone may have lifted Keithley's death and adapted it into his Vietnam film PLATOON. When I saw the Willem Dafoe scene - it automatically made me think of the Keithley incident.

--Rafael--

[Keithley]

Keithley and Cornelius Smith

You have a lot of good information on Furnando Keithley that I had not heard about prior to this discussion. As I learn new information, I try to confirm the facts. It helps to know that Cornelius Smith kept such meticulous records and that his son wrote about his father's military service. Is Cornelius Smith Jr. still alive?

Did you learn all this from the Vic Hurley and Cornelius Smith Jr. books? Does Cornelius Smith Jr.'s book provide the details on tracking down Furnando Keithley's killers, the trial and execution?

I have some of Furnando's records, his enlistment and his death certificate. I have also identified that there was a Keithley Overton Railroad, a Keithley Road (I presume this was adjacent to Camp Keithley). At one point there was so much fighting that it was reported that a soldier could not cross Keithley Road without getting shot at.

Do you have any other suggestions of how to learn more about Keithley's service, awards, or other books on the Philippine-American War, also called the Philippine Insurrection?

How did you happen to learn so much about an incident that happened over 100 years ago? It isn't something I had come across before in looking into what happened.

Keithley

[Sun_Helmet]

More on Smith:

http://www.gwpda.org/comment/huachuca/HI2-11.htm

[Sun_Helmet]

Is Cornelius Smith Jr. still alive?

Hello,
I do not have current info on C. Smith Jr.

Does Cornelius Smith Jr.'s book provide the details on tracking down Furnando Keithley's killers, the trial and execution?

The book does not go into detail on the trail and there is no mention of executions, just imprisonment. It does give more info on the tracking of the murderers.

Do you have any other suggestions of how to learn more about Keithley's service, awards, or other books on the Philippine-American War, also called the Philippine Insurrection?

There's numerous books on the Insurrection:
BENEVOLENT ASSIMILATION
BULLETS AND BOLOS
THE GEMS OF THE EAST
IN OUR IMAGE
ISLAND OF FEAR
JUNGLE PATROL
LIEUTENANT RAMSEY'S WAR
MEN IN SUN HELMETS
MUDDY GLORY
MYSELF AND A FEW MOROS
THE ORDEAL OF SAMAR
THE NEW AMERICA AND THE FAR EAST
PHILIPPINES PAST & PRESENT
THE PHILIPPINE WAR
SITTING IN DARKNESS
STARTLING EXPERIENCES OF THE WAR IN THE PHILIPPINES
THE STORY OF THE PHILIPPINES
TWISTED ROAD TO FREEDOM
UNCLE SAM'S BOYS IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
THE GENERAL (Millet)

You can also get some good news accounts on old issues of COLLIER's Magazine.

How did you happen to learn so much about an incident that happened over 100 years ago? Keithley

I have been doing research on Filipino history for some time.

--Rafael--
Sayoc Kali

[MasterKaliSilat]

Jungle Warriors. Yes & No

Jungle warriors existed amongst different villages in low-lying areas, mostly smaller island bodies.

The Philippine peoples from those times have roots from more organized civilizations, they often used against wandering tribes of peoples perhaps from neighboring islands. See my article entitled "The Filipinos Always Carried Weapons.” thanks, Greg

PS: Fact we know! The present day Filipino has various bloodlines and cultures running through it's veins, but few original indigenous peoples still exist today.

[MercilessMing]

I every history and civilisation of man , there is always someone else left to fight . even after rome had crush it neighbouring nation such as the greek and carthagianian and barbarian to the north . They still fight among each other to gain total control of rome ( scipii , julii , brutii , SPQR ) because they have different belief from one another . Chinese often fight among themselves until when central asian horseman arrive then they unite under a common purpose.

[Shadoh]

LATE post,
Im pulling this out of stuff i learned a long time ago in ROTC and AP world. But The phillipines never had any great fighters that earned mention in textbooks however they did have one of the worlds greatest early Navy's Back before the Han, Song, Gupta, etc.... long time ago.

[zchaos]

I have always heard that the Juramentados running amok was the reason for the US army adopting .45 long colt as the standard pistol cartridge (I believe it was .38 speacil before), as whatever they were using at the time was not enough to stop the charging Moro warriors. Amazing that the languages of that area can be traced all the way back to Sanskrit one of the oldest known languages, and mother to many other in that part of the world.

and the term leather neck