Harry James Fleeger was born on June 27, 1908, in South Dakota. He was the son of Lewis L. Fleeger and Cliffie M. Elliott Fleeger. He was the husband of Louise Morgan Snee. He attended Iowa State Teachers College before entering West Point in 1927 and graduating in 1931. Assigned to the 14th Cavalry at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, he served as a platoon and troop commander and spent time with the Civilian Conservation Corps in Iowa and Minnesota. In 1935, Fleeger completed the Troop Officers Course at the Cavalry School in Fort Riley, Kansas, earning distinction for his professionalism and horsemanship. He was then assigned to the 13th Cavalry at Fort Knox, Kentucky, where he contributed to the early development of mechanized cavalry tactics. In 1937, Harry Fleeger returned to Fort Riley to complete the Advanced Equitation Course, further honing his exceptional horsemanship, and the following year, he attended the Infantry School at Fort Benning.

In 1939, he and his family sailed to the Philippines, where he joined the renowned 26th Cavalry (Philippine Scouts) at Fort Stotsenburg. Promoted to captain, he commanded Troop E before becoming regimental adjutant in November 1941, just before war erupted. Following Pearl Harbor, Fleeger was promoted to major on December 8, 1941, one of the first battlefield promotions of World War II. He served as adjutant during the regiment’s fierce engagements at Damortis and throughout the fighting withdrawal into Bataan. By late January 1942, following heavy casualties and command losses, he assumed command of the remnants of the 1st Squadron, leading them in the desperate defense of Bataan.

On April 8, 1942, Major Harry Fleeger and the exhausted remnants of the 26th Cavalry (Philippine Scouts) held the defensive line along the south bank of the Alongap River in one of the final organized stands of the Bataan campaign. The next day, Bataan fell, and Fleeger was captured along with his men under General King’s order of surrender. He survived the Bataan Death March and more than two years in Japanese captivity at PW Camp #1 in Cabanatuan. On October 24, 1944, as the Japanese evacuated American officers to prevent their liberation, Fleeger was placed aboard an unmarked prison “hell ship.” The vessel was sunk by U.S. naval forces, unaware of its human cargo, and there were no survivors.

Maj Fleeger's name is memorialized in the Tablets of the Missing in the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Manila, Capital District, National Capital Region, Philippines. He also has a cenotaph in the Rosehill Cemetery, Parker, Turner County, South Dakota, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, alumni.westpointaog.org, weremember.abmc.gov