THE UNSUNG PHILIPPINE HERO
Captain David Fagen
If you would stroll around Metro Manila, you may walk thru a street or places named after foreign individuals [e.g. McKinley Road, Lawton Avenue, Taft Avenue, and others]. Having these streets etched in their names reminisced the minds of the Filipinos these foreign individuals had contributed important things that shaped the course of Philippine history.
In spite of their substantial contributions to our history, however, there are also other foreign key individuals in our past who were more deserving, yet they have been deliberately ignored and forgotten for their tremendous contributions to our history even to the point of their heroic deeds for this country. One of the best examples of that is CAPTAIN DAVID FAGEN during the Philippine-American War (1899-1902).
WHO WAS DAVID FAGEN?
DAVID FAGEN was an African-American Army Cpl., born sometime in 1878 in Tampa, and a son of a former slave in Florida.
In 1898, Fagen enlisted in the 24th Infantry, all-Black cavalry in the US Army, and was sent to Cuba for a war. After a year in Cuba, Fagen was deployed to Manila to fight in the Philippine-American War.
After a few months of battling against the Filipinos, while in war, he sees and hates when white soldiers called the Filipinos, "niggers" (as it also reminds him of tremendous discrimination in his home country), he also opposed American imperialism.
Reports indicate that he had constant arguments with his commanding officers and requested to be transferred at least three times which contributed to his growing resentment of the Army. [1]
He contemplated what he was doing, so one day, he had the decision to defy orders from his superior and decided not to go to fight against Filipinos anymore.
He stole four pistols and a horse and he rode off and joined the Filipino Republican Army (Philippine Liberation Army) under General Aguinaldo.
Fagen turned his back on his own army, for his new life as a Filipino guerrilla that began on November 17, 1899. He becomes a very successful fighter, cunning, and highly skilled guerrilla who wreaked havoc, harassed, and evaded large conventional American units and achieved legendary status in Filipino Community.
Fagen trained Filipino soldiers and was soon promoted to captain and given his own command.
He became the most notorious and hated American traitor, a turncoat hero of the Philippine-American War that his capture became an obsession to the U.S. military and the American public. [2]
David Fagen was ultimately never captured, his whereabouts were unclear at the end of the war.
Sources:
[1] Vicente Rafael, February 11, 2007, Blackpast.org
[2] "The Story of David Fagen: Turncoat Hero Featured For Black History Month" by Sandra Averhart • January 31, 2019
#PHCEHistory
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