Lt.Col. Claude A. Thorp...Does anyone have any first-hand knowledge of him or knows where to find so

My name is Katrina Gibson, I am seventeen years old and my great-grandfather was Lt.Col. Claude A. Thorp. My grandmother (His fourth daughter,Anita) died of cancer about ten years ago and we aren't really on close terms with her family. I am trying to find out more about him but all I've found so far on the internet is that his eyes were apparently extracted before they beheaded him and that he was arrogant. (I'm not sure about the credibility of these sources.) I know he was a higher up in the Philippine guerrilla resistance in central Luzon for awhile but I don't know anything specific about him as a person. Does anyone know where I might find out biographical information on him? Perhaps even somebody that knew him in person is still alive and on the internet somewhere.

 

Good luck with your quest, Katrina.

I found a little regarding him, although you may have found these already:

Americans Behind Japanese Lines: Philippine Guerrillas in World War II

Radaris: Free People Search & Background Check | Public Records| Find People by Free People Finder Thorpe&state=&furl=555PQfpVbsz=VP]4qc4frc:Qq/QbVMs4=8qcLV,dVM8M,/44BPe0q&is_frame=1&block=Google

"In Ramon de Jesus book he said "In January 1942, Gen. MacArthur ordered Lt. Col. Claude A. Thorpe to sneak out of beleaguered Bataan with some USAFFE officers and proceed to Mt. Pinatubo, the birthplace of the guerilla movement in Luzon. As observed by Maj. Henry Clay Cannor Jr., one of the American officers who escaped from Bataan, the stage was set for guerrilla warfare. All that was required was organization. Thorpe sent word that he was accepting recruits for underground warfare and that they would be officially recognized as members of the USAFFE. From all over the lowlands, men flocked to Thorpe’s headquarters seeking credentials as USAFFE guerrillas.

When Bataan fell, Thorpe had already formed several commando units in Luzon. The umbrella organization under Thorpe’s direction was called the USAFFE Luzon Guerrilla Army Forces, part of which was Western Luzon Guerrilla Forces (WLGF) under the command of Capt. Ralph McGuire, an explosives expert of the U.S. 26th Cavalry. The WLGF’s principal area of operation was Zambales.

Mt. Pinatubo stands 5,248 feet above sea level in the town of Botolan, Zambales near the border of Pampanga and Tarlac. In its shadow are the sitios of Sawang and Aglao, both in the municipality of San Marcelino. The two sitios became the evacuation area of the townsfolk of San Marcelino and Castillejos when the Japanese overran their poblaciones. Sawang rested on a plateau and could be reached only through a narrow trail.

The two "sitios" would figure prominently in the guerrilla movement. In January 1942, a local businessman, Euniciano Rodriguez, intercepted a message signed by Thorpe inviting "every loyal Filipino" to join the guerrilla movement.

Rodriguez led a group of Zambaleños to Mt. Pinatubo where they met Thorpe and McGuire. Thorpe informed Rodriguez of his plan to train civilians to do sabotage work and rear-guard action against the Japanese. Rodriguez was inducted into the WLGF with the rank of captain and was assigned to recruit men.

Thorpe divided Luzon into guerrilla area commands. After organizing the WLGF, he decided to leave for the Tarlac-Pampanga border. Some two months after the fall of Bataan, he was captured by the Japanese and executed. McGuire was able to escape the Japanese dragnet and continued recruiting men for the WLGF. The ragtag Zambales guerrillas brought substantial damage to Japanese convoys and radio installations. Soon the underground resistance spread to the northern towns; augmenting the original forces under the Rodriguez and Magsaysay brothers (Ramon and Jesus)."

dizon

"
[SIZE=+3]THE COMPLETE DATA COVERING THE GUERRILLA ACTIVITIES OF THE LATE
[SIZE=+3]COL. CLAUDE A. THORP[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+3]by[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+3]1st Lt. Herminia S Dizon[/SIZE][SIZE=+2]I have welcomed the opportunity to write about the guerrilla phase of Colonel Claude Thorp's life history and I am also aware that it is an opportunity to render honor and justice to the memory of a great man, a hero and a martyr. Much as my misgivings are that my inexperience and inadequacy in the technique of writing and my poor command of the English Language may not help to do him a hint of justice, nevertheless, I am confident that I have first hand knowledge of the truths and facts and that I and determined to stich to them into the narrative. I know the revelation of the truth will know about his magnificent sacrifice they will never fail to pay him the right homage.[/SIZE] .....'

World War II

Philippine Scouts Heritage Society - Louis Nathaniel Dosh, 57th Inf. (PS)

war and social upheaval: World War II Pacific Theater -- the Philippines 1942

American Experience . MacArthur . The Fight in the Philipines | PBS

World War II : GUERRILLA WARFARE IN THE PHILIPPINES

Witness Testimony - Lieutenant Colonel Edwin Price Ramsey, AUS (Ret.) - House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.)

The Philippines: colonialism ... - Google Books

I found a lot of entries under thorp claude philippines (I know a typo for phillipines, but an amazing number of entries came up!) also try correct spelling.

It sounds like your great-grandfather was part of something incredible!

[/SIZE]

 

I did some research in the National Archives last year on Philippine Guerrilla units in the Tarlac area. Not much on on LtC Thorpe other than in Jan 42 he escaped from Bataan and went into the mountains.

With him were:
Capt Ralph McGuire
1st Lt Robert Lapham
2nd Lt Charles Cushing
1st Sgt Fred Sladke
Pvt Everrett Brooks
Pvt Alfred Bruce (he survived the war but died in the 1980s)
Pvt Baxter Cahill
Pvt MacCarthy
Pvt Wagoner

In October 1942 Thorpe was betrayed by a Marcos Laxamana and imprisoned by the Japanese.

 

I know the daughter of Colonel Thorp. She told me to look him up at this website so I would know how brave he was. Her name is Claudia Adams. She lives in Federal Way, Washington. She is very proud of her father and knows a great deal about his military career.

 

If you want to contact Claudia, please e-mail me at normaarlin@yahoo.com

 

Hi Katrina, my mother is the first daughter of Claude Thorp. Have you received the information you were looking for?
Let me know if I can help. Take care, Keith Burrell knburr@ cablespeed.com