Philip Detro

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Philip Detro
Philip Detro Sep 1937 Alt Crop.png
Detro in 1937
Born(1911-05-17)May 17, 1911
Conroe, Texas, U.S.
DiedApril 10, 1938(1938-04-10) (aged 26)
Murcia, Spain
Allegiance United States
Spanish Republic
Branch United States National Guard
International Brigades
Service years1937–1938
Rank Battalion Commander
Unit Texas National Guard
The "Abraham Lincoln" XV International Brigade
Commands Lincoln Battalion
Conflicts
Education Rice University
University of Missouri
Political party Democratic

Philip Leighton Detro (May 17, 1911 – April 10, 1938) was an American writer, poet, and sailor who fought for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War as a member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. He served as commander of the Lincoln Battalion during the battles of Fuentes de Ebro and Teruel.

Contents

Early life

Detro in the Conroe High School yearbook, 1928 Philip Detro 1928.jpg
Detro in the Conroe High School yearbook, 1928

Philip Detro was born in Conroe, Texas, on May 17, 1911. [1] He graduated from Conroe High School in 1928 [2] and studied at Rice University before dropping out to become a merchant seaman. In 1932, he traveled to Germany where, after hearing a speech by Adolf Hitler, he decided to become an anti-fascist. [3]

Two years later, he decided to become a writer, and enrolled in a journalism program at the University of Missouri. He also studied Spanish and creative writing. A year later, he was expelled from the university for having 77 absences. He then moved to New York City, where he worked for a writers' union and devoted himself to writing. [4]

Spanish Civil War

XV International Brigade Commanders, October 1937. Standing (L-R): Robert G. Thompson (Mackenzie-Papineau), Philip Detro (Lincoln-Washington), Garcia (24th). Seated: Paddy O'Daire (British), Aguila (24th). Robert Thompson, Battalion Commander of 15th International Brigade, MacKenzie-Papineau (l.), Philip Detro of Lincoln-Washington, Garcia 24th, O'Dair (British) and Aguila 24th Battalion Oct 1937 Edit.png
XV International Brigade Commanders, October 1937.
Standing (L-R): Robert G. Thompson (Mackenzie–Papineau), Philip Detro (Lincoln-Washington), Garcia (24th).
Seated: Paddy O'Daire (British), Aguila (24th).

When the Spanish Civil War broke out, Detro tried to volunteer for the Abraham Lincoln Battalion to defend the Second Spanish Republic; but the Communist Party initially rejected him for not being a member. He was later admitted (thanks in part to his experience in the Texas National Guard) [5] along with about twenty other volunteers. [4] Upon joining, when asked his political affiliation, he replied: "Democrat." [1] He was an admirer of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, despite the latter withholding aid to the Republicans. [6] Once in Spain, Detro met an American nurse named Lenora Temple with whom he was romantically involved. [7]

In Tarazona he commanded a squadron. In Brunete he took charge of Hans Amlie's company after the latter was wounded, and led them to Mosquito Hill, where he himself was wounded. [4] After recovering, he participated in the Battle of Belchite, at the end of which he became battalion commander. [8]

Death and legacy

Detro was wounded by a sniper in Teruel on January 19, 1938. He had been trying to cross the street between two positions without using a shallow communications trench that he saw as unsafe. [8] [9] He was transferred to the hospital at Murcia, where he died of septicemia on April 10, 1938. [10] He was buried in town. [11]

Detro was remembered by his men for his sense of humor. [4] He liked to remind his political commissar, Fred Keller: "Where I come from, we shoot Communists." [12]

References

  1. 1 2 "Detro, Philip Leighton". alba-valb.org. Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives. December 10, 2019. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  2. ↑ The Bluebell, 1928. Conroe: The Students of Conroe High Scool. 1928. p. 29. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  3. ↑ B. O. (December 6, 1937). "Phil Detro — "Long-Legged" Texan Commander of our Lincoln-Washington Battalion". The Volunteer For Liberty. Madrid. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Eby, Cecil (1969). Between the Bullet and the Lie: American Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. pp. 166–167. ISBN   978-0-03-076410-3 . Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  5. ↑ Marion, G. (July 22, 1937). "Philip Detro, Former National Guardsman, Now Fights for Spain". Daily Worker . New York. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  6. ↑ Fisher, Harry (1997). Comrades: Tales of a Brigadista in the Spanish Civil War. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. p. 98. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Temple, Leonora Chandos". alba-valb.org. Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives. December 11, 2019. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  8. 1 2 Landis, Arthur H. (1968). The Abraham Lincoln Brigade. New York: The Citadel Press. pp. 306, 370. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  9. ↑ Rosenstone, Robert A. (1969). Crusade of the Left: the Lincoln Battalion in the Spanish Civil War. New York: Pegasus Books. p. 250. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  10. ↑ "American Dies In Spain". The New York Times . New York. April 16, 1938. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Philip Leighton Detro". fosasmemoriahistoricamurcia.com. Federación de Asociaciones de Memoria Histórica de la Región de Murcia. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  12. ↑ Carroll, Peter N. (1994). The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade: Americans in the Spanish Civil War. Stanford: Stanford University Press. pp. 166–167. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
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