<p>
<em>Robert Foster Haggerty</em> was born on September 15, 1904, at Peebles, Adams County, Ohio. He was the only child of Robert Fred Haggerty and Mary Miller Haggerty. In 1911 the family moved to Harlowton, Montana, where Robert attended grammar school until 1917, at which time he received a diploma of honor for being neither tardy nor absent during the school year. He completed his grade school education at Forest Grove, Montana, where he made a brilliant scholastic record. In 1922 he was graduated from the Fergus County High School in Lewistown, Montana, after completing the regular four-year scientific course in three years. He was selected on the basis of scholarship as a charter member of Fergus Chapter of the National High School Honor Society.</p>
<p>
In 1922 Robert entered Montana State College where he spent a year studying electrical engineering. In 1923 he transferred to Montana School of Mines where he remained for another year earning part of his school expenses by working in a mine. The following year he taught school at Square Butte, Montana. He spent the next year in the Chouteau County Treasurer’s Office at Fort Benton, Montana.</p>
<p>
While at Montana State College Robert was a member of the Reserve Officers Training Corps, was enthused by it, and became interested in a military career. In 1925 he entered a competitive examination for an appointment to the Military Academy. He obtained the highest standing, was appointed by Senator Burton K. Wheeler, and entered West Point on July 1, 1926. Robert was a member of the Plebe football squad and as a Second Classman was a member of the B squad in football. He was graduated from the Military Academy on June 12, 1930, number 65 in a class of 241. He chose the Coast Artillery Corps as his branch of service. After a four month detail in the Air Corps at primary flying school he served a tour of Foreign Service at Fort Kamehameha in the Harbor Defenses of Pearl Harbor, where his mother accompanied him. He returned in 1933 for station at Fort H. G. Wright, New York, and from there went on temporary duty with the Civilian Conservation Corps.</p>
<p>
On December 2, 1933, a romance which had started at West Point in the summer of 1927 culminated at tlie Cadet Chapel at West Point in Robert’s marriage to Alston Hamilton, daughter of Brigadier General and Mrs. Alston Hamilton. The bride and groom made their home in Winsted, Connecticut, until the spring of 1934 when they moved to Boston on Robert’s assignment to Fort Banks.</p>
<p>
Robert had marked mechanical aptitude. While in Hawaii he had started work on a spotting board. It showed such promise that he was ordered to Fort Banks to spend full time working on it. No funds were available, but by using scrap materials and salvage he was able to construct and perfect the spotting board in one year. In March 1935 the spotting board was delivered to the Coast Artillery Board for test. In April 1935 Robert, accompanied by Alston, sailed to Panama for a test of his spotting board in connection with sixteen-inch gun firing. He was promoted to First Lieutenant on August 1, 1935, and the following month was sent to Fort Tilden, New York for a further test of his spotting board. This board was built with clock faces especially for use with spotting data obtained from airplanes. Apparently the need for such a spotting board did not appear to be sufficiently urgent at that time to cause its adoption. It did prove to be of remarkable accuracy and was patented. Robert was also working on a plotting board, but upon his detail in the Ordnance Department in September 1935, this work had to stop and the board was never completed.</p>
<p>
In June 1936 Robert was enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for post graduate work. On June 21, 1936, a daughter, Nancy Miller, was born. In June 1937 Robert received the degree of Master of Science. He and Alston then spent a month’s vacation on a trailer trip to the Gaspe Peninsula. After a summer course at Ficatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, Robert reported to the Ordnance School at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. After graduation in June 1938, Robert, Alston, and the baby went on a four month’s trailer trip to Square Butte, Montana, to visit Robert’s parents. He then reported to Frankford Arsenal, Pennsylvania, to complete his detail in the Ordnance Department.</p>
<p>
In September 1939, Robert returned to his basic branch and was assigned as a student at the Coast Artillery School, Fort Monroe, Virginia. The war clouds were already gathering so the class was graduated early on February 1, 1940. After temporary duty at Fort Totten, New York, Robert, Alston, and Nancy sailed on June 8, 1940, from New York City for the Philippines via Panama, San Francisco, and Hawaii. Enroute the family celebrated Robert’s promotion to Captain on June 12, 1940. They arrived on July 20, 1940, and were immediately sent to Fort Frank on Carabao Island where Robert was placed in command of the fort and Battery F, 91st Coast Artillery (Philippine Scouts).</p>
<p>
Life was pleasant at Fort Frank for the Haggerty family. The young daughter learned some of the Visayan and Tagalong dialects and liked to be with the scouts, who in turn adored her. Robert was extremely busy so Alston managed to help him in his official duties by telephoning messages, visiting the mainland on missions, and pulling the fish trap. Robert, looking ahead to possible loss of the water line from the mainland, managed to get the water distillation plant in operating condition. He obtained, from other than Army sources, a new cable for placing in safe condition the cableway up which all supplies for the fort had to be taken. Robert made every effort to improve conditions for the Philippine Scouts at Fort Frank and was a highly successful commander of Philippine Scouts.</p>
<p>
In February 1941, the threat of war became sufficiently real to cause the start of evacuation of dependents from the Philippines. In May 1941 the Haggertys were moved from Fort Frank to Fort Mills on Corregidor. A week’s vacation in the mountains at Baguio followed, but on July 16, 1941, Alston and Nancy sailed from Manila on the transport which evacuated the last of the dependents. The following day Robert returned to duty at Fort Frank. Early in October 1941, he was ordered to Manila to set up Engineer supply facilities for the Philippine Army. He was appointed Commanding Officer of the Manila Base Engineer Depot and given quarters at Fort William McKinley.</p>
<p>
The Japanese attack on December 8, 1941, found Robert still in command of the Engineer Depot. On the night of December 23, 1941, General Douglas MacArthur issued the order “War Plan Orange Number 3 in effect” and the withdrawal to Bataan Peninsula was started. That same day Robert was given a temporary promotion to the rank of major. Alston received a letter from him dated February 20, 1942, when he was at Bataan. Later, as a Coast Artillery officer, he was recalled to Corregidor to take part in the final defense with the 91st Coast Artillery (Philippine Scouts). Another letter dated April 5, 1942, just four days before General King surrendered his exhausted troops on Bataan, was written from Corregidor.</p>
<p>
The fall of Bataan spelled doom for the garrison on Corregidor. For the next twenty-seven days the heavy air and artillery bombardment of the “Hock” was Intolerable. The incessant pounding continued hour after hour, and day after day. During this time Robert was in command of the James Ravine Beach Defense Sector. His resourcefulness and ingenuity were frequently displayed in the construction and improvisation of facilities designed to give comfort to the troops under his command. He was constantly an inspiration to his men because of his unrelenting cheerfulness and his disregard for danger in exposing himself. On April 13, 1942, personnel of Battery James were trapped in nearby tunnels as they sought shelter from a heavy Japanese artillery barrage upon the battery. Robert’s action in this emergency may be summarized best by referring to the official account: “Major Haggerty readily volunteered, although the position was under close enemy observation and steady fire, to rescue his comrades. Disregarding the imminent danger of collapsing walls and roofs, Major Haggerty heroically entered the tunnels, assisted in extricating soldiers, and gave first aid to the wounded”.</p>
<p>
On May 6, 1942, General Wainwright ordered the white flag of surrender to be raised over Fort Mills at noon, in order to forestall wanton destruction by the Japanese forces who, despite heavy losses, had effected a landing on the previous day. The 12,000 prisoners were kept in a small enclosure on Corregidor with insufficient water, and only such food as they had brought with them, until May 25, 1942. They were then taken on three transports to Manila and marched through the streets to Bilibid prison. Robert was among the American prisoners taken by train from there to Cabanatuan, arriving on June 1, 1942.</p>
<p>
In prison camp, where nearly everything was lacking, Robert went to work, made his own tools, and began producing from the crudest materials practical substitutes for needed articles. He made cups, canteens, and mess gear out of any sort of sheet tin scraps, and, in doing so, developed a method of making water-tight joints without solder. He built the first chair in the prison camp and a desk without nails. He built the first bed, a spring bed without springs. By his example other prisoners were encouraged to make the best of their lot through improvising comforts, an occupation which helped the morale of the prisoners tremendously.</p>
<p>
The supply of cigarettes in the Philippines soon ran out, and such as could be purchased through the Japanese camp commissary, or through underground sources, became prohibitive in price. Tobacco could usually be purchased but that left the problem of rolling satisfactory cigarettes. Robert promptly invented a treadle-operated cigarette machine which became a camp wonder. Tobacco went in here, a sheet of paper there, and a push on the foot treadle caused a tailor-made cigarette to roll into a hopper. This prompted the development in camp of many other cigarette machines.</p>
<p>
Robert was always in good spirits, always interested in something, and always making something while a group of fellow prisoners watched him. He built screens of split bamboo which could be rolled up or down. With a mess kit knife he whittled smoking pipes out of camagon, a hard black wood. He built a windmill that rotated in a horizontal plane. He worked on a scale model of a trailer for about six months. This model was approximately two feet long, made of grass, bamboo, mud, and wood, and had an open top to facilitate inspection of the interior arrangement. It incorporated all the features that he hoped to have in his own post-war trailer. It is but one evidence of the fact that he did not give up hope and that his outward cheerfulness was genuine.</p>
<p>
The courage which Robert had shown under enemy fire was not diminished by his incarceration as a prisoner of war. While he was on a work detail on the prison farm about June 1943, he saw a Japanese soldier begin to berate, slap, and kick an American soldier for some displeasure that had been incurred. He attempted to intervene and protect the American soldier. The sentry called several other Japanese soldiers who beat Robert so severely across the head, shoulders, and back that he was down for a week. His indomitable spirit remained unbroken, and a complete physical recovery was made.</p>
<p>
Although there was a prison farm the best vegetables were sold in town. The prisoners had to subsist on a miserable diet of musty rice, a watery soup of swamp lilies or tulilum, which is something like spinach but bitter, some hard field corn and 50 grams per month of dried fish or carabao meat. At the camp commissary some tobacco, native fruits, sugar, rice, and duck eggs were available for purchase with the small amount of money received from the Japanese as pay or that obtained by other means. Two and a half Red Cross packages, each package weighing nine pounds, were received by each prisoner from the South African, Canadian and American Red Cross. In addition to food these packages contained playing cards, and Robert became noted for his skill as a bridge player. His rugged constitution served him well and he suffered no illness as a prisoner. When he left Cabanatuan in October 1944, however, his weight was estimated to be only 140 or 150 pounds, which would be extremely low for his powerful frame. Robert heard from Alston while he was a prisoner, and even received a package. She received from him four brief post cards, either of the check type or typewritten, but bearing his signature.</p>
<p>
Robert was among the able bodied prisoners moved back to Bilibid prison in October 1944 to await shipment to Japan. The rations there became so radically reduced in quantity that he made a set of adjustable dippers, so that food could be doled out in accurate amounts.</p>
<p>
On December 13, 1944, Robert left Manila on the prisoner-of-war ship, Oryoku Maru. It was the sixth in a column of six vessels, with several destroyers, one light cruiser, and a couple of corvettes on the flanks. The prisoners were in the holds of the Oryoku Marti, while Japanese passengers were in the cabins above. The convoy was attacked by United States aircraft the next day, and astonishing as it may seem, the prisoners cheered on the airplanes as they dove on their own ship. The intelligence service, however, had done a good job and bombs were reserved for all ships in the convoy except the Oryoku Maru. Airplanes made many passes at the convoy all day long but attacks against the Oryoku Maru were limited to machine gunning of the Japanese gun crews and the upper structure of the ship. After the last air attack the prison ship was alone, creeping close to shore. It put into Subic Bay the night, of the 14th of December 1944, and anchored off the old Marine Corps Station at Olongapo. During the night the Japanese evacuated their personnel except for twelve guards. The American prisoners were left in the hold of this apparently abandoned ship as a target for their own airmen, supposedly in revenge for the losses which had been suffered above decks by the Japanese. At 0800 on December 15, 1944, the prisoners heard airplanes. Bombs were dropped on the first run and direct hits were made on the aft hold among the prisoners of war. Robert was in that hold. A report from a former prisoner of war who was not an eye witness brought information that Robert was in the act of helping others when he was killed. For those who knew Robert this report needs no verification.</p>
<p>
In addition to being a military man Robert had an artistic nature and early displayed talent in sketching, drawing, and painting. While he was a pupil at Harlowton grade school his painting of a small vase was selected as a school entry in the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915, where it won a prize. In high school he did much of the drawing and cartooning for the school publications. At West Point he produced many cartoons for Corps publications. An oil painting which he made on furlough in 1928 is mentioned in the <em>Howitzer</em> of 1930. Among the most prized possessions of his parents are many of his sketches and paintings. Robert was also an accomplished player of the clarinet, and devoted much time to classical music. He played in his high school orchestra and in the Montana State College band, and only the war separated him from his instruments.</p>
<p>
Robert was the holder of many patents. His inventions varied from a novel safety pin to a cigarette vending machine which delivered a lighted cigarette when a penny was dropped in the slot. Even while a prisoner at Cabanatuan he drew up plans for an improved Venetian blind and had witnesses affix their signatures in preparation for making his application for a patent.</p>
<p>
Robert was a member of the Order of De Molay in his younger days and later became a Master Mason.</p>
<p>
On Army Day, April 6, 1947, Nancy Haggerty, aged eleven, stepped forward on the parade ground of the Presidio of San Francisco, California, before an audience which included her devoted schoolmates and mother. She received the Silver Star awarded posthumously to her father, Major Robert F. Haggerty, for gallantry in action on April 13, 1942, at Fort Mills, Corregidor, Philippine Islands. This decoration was added to the Purple Heart which had been awarded previously. It cannot, however, be called a final tribute. As his classmates and all others who knew him think back to the days of Bataan and Corregidor, as they often will, they will see standing in that heroic band of defenders the erect, determined, and yet calm figure of Robert Foster Haggerty, and they will say to him “Well done, Robert”.</p>
<p>
<em>—</em><em>Hubert Lewis</em></p>
<p>
</p>