William J. Pomeroy (November 25, 1916 – January 12, 2009) was an American communist, poet, author, and

ghostwriter A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often ...

, who served the American army in the Pacific during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He had a connection with the

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

guerillas during the war, supplying them with materials. He also organized a protest against the decision of the U.S. government to treat the guerillas as enemies. He married Celia Mariano, a Filipina who was a member of the

Hukbalahap The Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon (), better known by the acronym Hukbalahap, was a communist guerrilla movement formed by the farmers of Central Luzon. They were originally formed to fight the Japanese, but extended their fight into a rebelli ...

in 1948. In 1952, he and Celia were captured by government forces in the Sierra Madre in the Philippines. They were given a life sentence, but were released in 1962, although Celia was refused a passport. Pomeroy began to campaign, including lobbying

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...

and

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

. The fight was successful but the Pomeroys were denied entry to the US, so instead settled in England.

Early life

William J. Pomeroy was born on November 25, 1916, in the town of Waterloo, New York, into a working-class family. During the 1930s he moved from job to job and read avidly. By 1937, he was a factory worker in

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

, New York. He joined the

Young Communist League The Young Communist League (YCL) is the name used by the youth wing of various Communist parties around the world. The name YCL of XXX (name of country) originates from the precedent established by the Communist Youth International. Examples of Y ...

in 1938.

World War II

Pomeroy had strong ties with the Filipino guerrillas known as the Hukbalahap during World War II. He supplied the guerrillas with the materials they needed for the war. His wife Celia was also a guerrilla during the war. Pomeroy was known to be a legendary fighter for Philippines freedom and independence. During World War II, he was deployed with the 5th Air Force of Douglas MacArthur.

Writing

Prolific as a writer, Pomeroy contributed to '' Daily World'' on developments in Africa, Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the Philippines. His publications included ''Apartheid, Imperialism, and African Freedom''; ''Apartheid Axis: United States and South Africa''; ''American Neo-Colonialism: Its Emergence in the Philippines and Asia''; ''Guerrilla Warfare and Marxism''; ''The Forest'' (1963). He also published a collection of short stories, ''Trail of Blame'', and poetry: ''Beyond Barriers'' and ''Sonnets for Celia'' (1963), the latter comprising love poems for his wife composed while they were in prison. He served as the ghostwriter for the autobiography of

Luis Taruc Luis Mangalus Taruc (; June 21, 1913 – May 4, 2005) was a Filipino political figure and rebel during the agrarian unrest of the 1930s until the end of the Cold War. He was the leader of the Hukbalahap group (from ''Hukbong Bayan Laban s ...

, a leader of the Hukbalahap group, titled ''Born of the People'' (1953).

References

Publications and external links

* Pomeroy, William J. "Half a Century of Socialism: Soviet Life in the Sixties". New York: International Publishers, 1967.
''Guerrilla Warfare and Marxism''
edited by Pomeroy, 1968. 1916 births 2009 deaths American communists American expatriates in the Philippines American male writers People from Waterloo, New York {{US-army-World-War-II-bio-stub