Bonner Frank Fellers (1896 - 1973)

Born 7 Feb 1896 in Ridge Farm, Vermillion County, Illinois

Ancestors

Died 7 Oct 1973 at age 77 in Georgetown, District of Columbia, USA

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Biography

Note: direct descendant of Johannes and Barbara G'fellers/Gefellers

Bonner Fellers was the son of Frank and Florence Nightengale Newlin Fellers. He was born in Ridge Farm, Illinois, in 1896; his parents were Quakers. Bonner had a brother, Marion L. Fellers.

Bonner Fellers was a distinguished member of the US military and received significant awards and honors. He attended Earlham College in Indiana starting in 1916. There he met and began a lifelong friendship with Yuri Watanabe, a Japanese exchange student. She was the first Japanese person he'd ever seen. He asked her for information to learn more about her people and culture. She recommended reading the writings of Lafcadio Hearn and Michi Kawai. He read them and eventually met both; striking up friendships with each of them.

Bonner graduated from West Point, USMA, in 1918. During his distinguished military career, he became the first in his class to make general.

Bonner Fellers' friendships with Watanabe, Hearn and Kawai led to a lifelong love of Japanese culture and its people. In 1934 he wrote a thesis entitled "The Psychology of the Japanese Soldier". This insightful work foresaw Japanese militaristic tendencies including Kamikaze warriors. He suggested strategies for the same and his thesis eventually became one of the manuals for American officers.

Bonner Feller married Dorothy Dysart on November 25, 1925. He met her while teaching math at the military academy; he taught mathematics there from 1924-1929, and taught English there in the 1930s as well. They had one child, a daughter, Jane, who was born in the Philippine island of Corregidor in 1930.

During his distinguished and decorated military career, Bonner Fellers served under General MacArthur as his military secretary. He was also Secretary General for the Allied Council for Japan. At some point during this time he earned a Distinguished Service Medal. Bonner led the psychological warfare effort against the Japanese during the war. His contributions in this endeavor led to his second Distinguished Service Medal, and, according to the citation with it, significant contribution that led to the surrender of Japan.

Bonner Fellers served 3 tours of duty in the Philippines between the years 1920-1936. During that time he opened the Philippine Military Academy ( the Philippine "West Point"). He was also the liaison between General MacArthur and Philippine President Manuel Quezon. President Quezon awarded him the Philippine's Distinguished Service Star for his contributions to the Philippine national defenses. He was awarded a second Distinguished Service star in 1946 for his role in helping to free the Philippines from Japan as well as his assignment as Director of Civil Affairs.

Between 1936-1938, while on US intelligence assignments, Bonner Fellers crossed the entire breadth of Russia by land, one time from west to east, and the other from east to west. These trips were foundational in developing his concerns regarding communism.

Bonner Fellers served in Cairo from 1940-1942. during that time he was an American observer. His orders were to write comprehensive reports which were then sent in code. He was not in charge of which code was used. His concerns were dismissed. Eventually Italian spies at the embassy in Rome stole the code book and shared the information with the Germans. The US military placed no blame with Bonner Fellers at all.

Upon his return to the US, Fellers was awarded with a promotion to Brigadier General and another Distinguished Service Medal for his reports. His clear, accurate and concise reports of his observations on the battlefield contributed to tactical and technical development of US Armed Forces.

In his reports, Fellers advocated for giving aid to the British through more weapons, and landing in North Africa. This gained the support of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who, after meeting with Fellers in 1942, implemented those particular suggestions.

Bonner Fellers also served in the Pacific theater during WW II. He helped plan Operation Hollandia, an operation which saw no loss of American lives in its execution. It was after this time that he served as General MacArthur's military secretary. He also served as MacArthur's personal front line observer.

Bonner Fellers retired from the military in 1948 with the rank of Brigadier General.

In addition to his 1937 thesis and outstanding reports, Bonner Fellers also wrote a report entitled "Emperor Hirohito's Struggle to Surrender", which was published in 1947. This article would form the basis for the movie "Emperor" in 2012.

Perhaps it was this article which helped Emperor Hirohito avoid prosecution as a war criminal. In 1971, Emperor Hirohito conferred on Bonner Fellers the Second Order of the Sacred Treasure, for his contributions in promoting friendship between the US and Japan, and for saving the Emperor from being prosecuted as a war criminal.

After his retirement, Bonner Fellers was active in politics. He was an active member of the John Birch Society and the Republican Party. He actively promoted presidential candidates Robert Taft and Barry Goldwater.

Bonner Frank Fellers died in 1973 in Georgetown, District of Columbia. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC.

Thank you for your lengthy and distinguished service, Bonner. Your country owes you more than we can say or comprehend.

RIP.

Sources

• http://www.harrold.org/familytree/webtree2/1373.htm

http://www.bonnerfellers.com/ http://www.bonnerfellers.com/uploads/B.Fellers_Yuri_Watanabe_Earlhamite_1996.pdf

with gratitude to Russ Jacobs: http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=fellers&GSfn=bonner&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=47347165&df=all&

http://carpenter-kring.freeservers.com/genealogy/fellers/feller02.html

United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MKX1-VTV : accessed 13 January 2017), Bonner F Fellers in household of Frank Fellers, Elwood, Vermilion, Illinois, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 159, sheet 5A, family 107, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 329; FHL microfilm 1,374,342 United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJV4-HHC : accessed 13 January 2017), Bonner F Fellers, Fort Monroe, Elizabeth City, Virginia, United States; citing ED 30, sheet 14B, line 76, family , NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 1887; FHL microfilm 1,821,887

New York State Census, 1925," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K911-HGF : 8 November 2014), Bonner F Fellers, Highland, A.D. 01, E.D. 02, Orange, New York, United States; records extracted by Ancestry and images digitized by FamilySearch; citing p. 3, line 32, New York State Archives, Albany