August 14, 2002 - Friends of Malaysia: Friends of Malaysia honor Royal Marines who saved PCV from terrorists

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Malaysia: Peace Corps Malaysia : The Peace Corps in Malaysia: August 14, 2002 - Friends of Malaysia: Friends of Malaysia honor Royal Marines who saved PCV from terrorists

By Admin1 (admin) on Sunday, October 20, 2002 - 1:10 pm: Edit Post

Friends of Malaysia honor Royal Marines who saved PCV from terrorists





Read and comment on this resolution from the Friends of Malaysia to honor the Royal Marines who saved a Peace Corps Volunteer who was kidnapped in a local rebellion by a Moslem leader. The rebels announced that they were going to hang their prisoners if their demands were not met. A contingent of British Marines landed at Limbang and freed the hostages only hours before the first execution was scheduled. Five Marines were killed in this action.

The Date? December 12, 1962

With the recent awareness of Peace Corps on the safety of Peace Corps Volunteers it is important to recognize that this is not a new concern and that sometimes other men and women risk their lives, and give their lives, to extract PCVs from difficult situations. To the best of our knowledge these events have never been acknowledged by Peace Corps.

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Dear PCNews,*

* This link was active on the date it was posted. PCOL is not responsible for broken links which may have changed.



Dear PCNews,

I would like your assistance in getting the following message out to other affiliated RPCV groups that might join the Friends of Malaysia in thanking the Royal Marines that rescued a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer who trained and served with me in Malaysia. I can be reached by phone at the numbers listed below. I am in California. Any help that you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

Thaine H. Allison, Jr.
Program Chair, Board of Directors
Friends of Malaysia
Borneo I 1962-64



I am the VP of Programs for the Friends of Malaysia RPCV group. Based on the following emails the BoD of FoM adopted the attached resolution. While they did not specifically direct me to do so I am asking Peace Corps to acknowledge the sacrifices of the Royal Marines that gave their lives to rescue a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer that trained and served with me. There is no doubt that he would have been put to death if the Royal Marines had not extricated him from captivity. In this day and age we are seeing more concern about volunteer security. This was a very early terrorist attack on a PCV that has gone un noticed for 40 years.

Based on the following brief history of events in Sarawak in the late fall of 1962 the board of Directors of Friends of Malaysia adopted the attached resolution. One of the out comes of our adopting the resolution was to urge NPCA and affiliated groups to adopt a similar resolution or at least draft a letter of "thank you" to the Marines who are meeting in Manchester in September. I recognize this is short notice but the wheels of democracy always take longer than anticipated. I will be attending the reunion to thank the marines on behalf of FoM and would like to carry an acknowledgement of the their contribution to PCVs safety during a very early terrorist attack on a fellow volunteer.



The Resolution

In an earlier email to the Board of Directors of Friends of Malaysia:

Over the last several months I have mentioned that I have become involved with a British videographer who is interested in producing a documentary video on the raid at Limbang, Sarawak, December 12, 1962. While in general I do not support projects that deal with armed military conflict this one is of particular interest to me, and I think to FoM, because one of the people rescued by the British Marines was Fritz Klattenhoff. Fritz was a Peace Corps Volunteer that I trained with in Hilo during the summer of 1962. We were, as I too often point out, North Borneo/Sarawak I. Fritz was just four days out of high school when he joined us in San Francisco for that flight to Hilo.



Royal Marines

In December of 1962 he was caught up in a local rebellion by a Moslem leader. The group, we would call them terrorists today, killed four Malay policemen, including Fritz's room mate before the defending police surrendered the town of Limbang to the rebels. During the night Fritz snuck into town and buried his friend's body that had been left in the road. Fritz was captured the next day and was held hostage along with the local District Officer and his wife and two nuns. The rebels announced that they were going to hang their prisoners if their demands were not met. On the morning of December 12, 1962 a contingent of British Marines landed at Limbang and freed the hostages only hours before the first execution was scheduled. Five Marines were killed in this action. Fritz received a slight gunshot wound to his leg as the rebels desperately tried to kill them during the fire fight.

The Marines are having a reunion in Manchester England in September. I have been invited to attend the events. I will personally thank them for saving my friend's life. I hope to carry messages from his surviving family. I would like to go as a representative of Friends of Malaysia and carry a small plaque (not to exceed $100) with the attached proposed resolution.

Fritz was about as straight arrow as they come. He was a cop in Hawaii for most of his career after Peace Corps. Unfortunately he died of bone cancer 2 years ago. I have met with his mother, sister and brother. I have talked on the phone with his adopted children. Fritz carried the events of that night with him through out his life. Somewhere in the "urban myth" of Peace Corps rumors there is a hint that Fritz joined the rebels. There is no evidence of this from the personal accounts of others that were on scene or in the official documents available, three other volunteers were caught up in related events but none had to be rescued by Marines. Fritz was reassigned to another site after this event and eventually trained PCVs in Hilo.

I therefore Move: That the Friends of Malaysia adopt the attached resolution, subject to editing, to thank the Royal Marines for their brave efforts to save an American Peace Corps Volunteer.

If the motion is carried. I would like to ask the Board to adopt a resolution to urge NPCA and the Peace Corps to send a similar resolution to the reunion. If possible I would like Peace Corps to arrange to send someone from the American Embassy in England to officially represent the US government. With the recent awareness of Peace Corps on the safety of Peace Corps Volunteers I think it is important to recognize that this is not a new concern and that sometimes other men and women risk their lives, and give their lives, to extract PCVs from difficult situations. To the best of my knowledge these events have never been acknowledged by Peace Corps.

Motion carried: 8/15/2002




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This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Peace Corps - Safety and Security; COS - Malaysia

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