Bonner Fellers
| Bonner Fellers | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Bonner Frank Fellers |
| Born |
February 7, 1896 Ridge Farm, Illinois |
| Died | October 7, 1973 (aged 77) |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Army
|
| Years of service | 1918–1946 |
| Rank |
 Brigadier General
|
| Battles/wars |
World War I World War II |
| Awards |
Distinguished Service Medal (2) Legion of Merit |
Bonner Frank Fellers (February 7, 1896 – October 7, 1973) was a U.S. Army officer who served during World War II as military attaché and psychological warfare director. He was considered a protégé of General Douglas MacArthur.
Fellers entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in June 1916. Due to the increased need for junior officers during the First World War, Feller's class was accelerated and graduated on November 1, 1918. Upon graduation, Fellers was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Coast Artillery Corps.
Fellers was promoted to first lieutenant on October 1919 and graduated from the Coast Artillery School Basic Course in 1920. The drastic reduction in the Army after the war created limited opportunities for promotion and Fellers was not promoted to captain until December 3, 1934. In 1935 he graduated from the Command and General Staff School and the Chemical Warfare Service Field Officer's Course, during which time he completed his soon-to-be influential thesis "The Psychology of the Japanese Soldier".
Fellers served 3 tours of duty in the Philippines in the 1920s and 1930s. His assignments included helping open the Philippine Military Academy, the Philippines' "West Point", and liaison to Philippine President Manuel Quezon. The Philippines awarded him its Distinguished Service Star for his contributions to its defenses.
Fellers graduated from the Army War College in 1939 and was promoted to major on July 1, 1940. He was promoted to temporary lieutenant colonel on September 15, 1941 and to temporary colonel the next month.
In October 1940, Colonel Fellers was assigned as military attaché to the U.S. embassy in Egypt. He was tasked with the duty of monitoring and reporting on British military operations in the Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre. The British granted Fellers access to their activities and information. Fellers dutifully reported everything he learned to his superiors in the United States. His reports were read by President Roosevelt, the head of American intelligence, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Unbeknown to Fellers, Axis intelligence read the reports: within eight hours the most secret data on British “strengths, positions, losses, reinforcements, supply, situation, plans, morale etc” were in the hands of German and Italian military.
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