Robert Lapham

Lapham operated in the provinces of Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, and Nueva Vizcaya. Robert Lapham (January 1, 1917 – December 18, 2003) was a reserve lieutenant in the US Army in World War II. He served in the Philippines attached to the 45th Infantry (Philippine Scouts),

Escape from Bataan After the successful Japanese attack on the Philippines on December 8, 1941, Lapham and his company, consisting of Filipino musicians and military policemen, withdrew along with other American military units to defensive positions on the Bataan Peninsula. Lapham joined Major Claude A. Thorp in organizing "a raiding party that would slip through Japanese lines", with the objective of sabotaging Clark Field, and gathering intelligence for General MacArthur. On January 27, 1942, along with Thorp and a dozen others, Lapham slipped through Japanese lines and headed north into the Zambales Mountains. They attacked a Japanese convoy near Olongapo, possibly killing several soldiers, but failing to capture food and supplies. They wandered through the mountains for a month, collecting lost American and Filipino soldiers and finally reaching Mount Pinatubo, where they established Camp Four or Camp Sanchez. The newly promoted Lieutenant Colonel Thorp established radio communication with Bataan. After the fall of Bataan on April 9, 1942, Thorp released his approximately one hundred men from following his orders, allowing them to surrender, stay or follow their own path.

Lapham refused to submit to attempts by Volckmann to unite northern Luzon guerrilla units into a single command with Volckmann himself as the commander. Lapham's opinion was that the guerrilla units were scattered, communications were difficult, the guerrillas were too weak even in concert to take on the Japanese until near the end of the war, and that the challenges each guerrilla leader faced were different. Instructions dictated from a single leader would not be helpful. The official U.S. Army historian also questions Volckmann's claim to command Lapham's guerrillas. )

Lapham was conscious of his image as a leader. He was clean shaven, attempted to dress neatly in semi-military clothing, and avoided liaisons with Filipina women. Not all his men followed his lead. Hunt dressed like a "bandit," saluted with his left hand, and had a Filipina mistress. Lapham expressed admiration for the same woman, a guerrilla named Herminia "Minanga" Dizon, and also admiration for Hunt. Hunt said that Lapham was reasonable, a fighter, and not ambitious. The POWs, captured after the fall of Corregidor and Bataan in 1942, had not been shipped to Japan because they were considered too ill or unfit. Lapham was concerned the POWs would be executed before the camp could be liberated. His concerns were justified given the August 1944 Japanese War Ministry directive to commandants of POW camps outlining the final disposition of prisoners (known as the "August 1 Kill-All Order"), and the killing of 139 American POWs by the Japanese at Palawan on December 14, 1944. Lapham's efforts led to the Raid at Cabanatuan on January 30, 1945, by U.S. army Rangers, Alamo Scouts, and 400 of Lapham's guerrillas commanded by Eduardo Joson and Juan Pajota. The guerrillas guided the Rangers and set up roadblocks to prevent any Japanese reinforcements from reaching the camp. Pajota ambushed a relief mission of several hundred Japanese soldiers which was instrumental in ensuring a successful rescue.