Adolf Gustaaf Lembong (19 October 1910 – 23 January 1950) was an Indonesian military officer involved in guerrilla warfare against Japan in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and subsequently in the struggle for Indonesian independence. He was killed during the

APRA coup d'état APRA or Apra may refer to: Places *Apra, Punjab, a census town city in Jalandhar District of Punjab, India * Apra Harbor, the main port of Guam Acronyms * American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana), a Peruvi ...

Bandung Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, the city is the List of Indonesian cities by population, fourth-most populous city and fourth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabay ...

World War II

At the start of World War II, Lembong was an NCO in the Dutch colonial army (

KNIL The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (; KNIL, ; ) was the military force maintained by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in its Dutch colonial empire, colony of the Dutch East Indies, in areas that are now part of Indonesia. The KNIL's air arm ...

) in

Manado Manado (, ) is the capital City status in Indonesia, city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sulawesi. It is the second largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar, with the 2020 census giving a population of 451,916,Badan ...

. In 1943, he was captured by the Japanese and sent to Japanese

POW Camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, an ...

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

, Philippines. Lembong and several others were able to escape captivity and join a local guerrilla unit that was part of the

USAFFE United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) ( Filipino: ''Hukbong Katihan ng Estados Unidos sa Malayong Silangan''; Spanish: ''Fuerzas del Ejército de los Estados Unidos en el Lejano Oriente'') was a military formation of the United St ...

LGAF. It was during his prison time that he learned basic and some advanced

Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Tagal ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

from his fellow American and Filipino prisoners.

Struggle for Indonesian independence

After the war, Lembong returned to Indonesia as KNIL officer in January 1946 and later joined an irregular armed organization called the "Loyalty of the Indonesian People from Sulawesi" () after

Operation Product Operation Product was a Dutch military offensive against areas of Java and Sumatra controlled by the de facto Republic of Indonesia during the Indonesian National Revolution.Vickers (2005), p. 99 It took place between 21 July and 4 August 1947. ...

on 21 July 1947. This group was mostly made up of men from the

Minahasa The Minahasans or Minahassa are an Austronesian people, Austronesian ethnic group native to North Sulawesi province of Indonesia, formerly known as North Celebes. The Minahasa people sometimes refer to themselves as Manado people. Although the M ...

region in

North Sulawesi North Sulawesi () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is mainly located on the Minahasa Peninsula of the island of Sulawesi, south of the Philippines and southeast of Sabah, Malaysia, but also includes various small archipel ...

who were residing in

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

. In 1947, KRIS and other groups were integrated into the Armed Forces of the Republic of Indonesia (). In 1948, TRI became the National Armed Forces of Indonesia () and Lembong became commandant of 16th Brigade (Brigade XVI) with the rank of lieutenant colonel. During

Operation Kraai Operation Kraai (Operation Crow) was a Dutch military offensive against the '' de facto'' Republic of Indonesia in December 1948, following the failure of negotiations. With the advantage of surprise, the Dutch managed to capture the Indonesi ...

, Lembong was captured in

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...

and jailed by the Dutch for a time in Ambawara.

APRA Coup d'etat and death

Lembong was initially considered for the

Military Attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

position in the Philippines, but was instead appointed head of the Army Education Department. He traveled to

to take up his position. On 23 January, he planned to visit the commandant of the

Siliwangi Division Military Regional Command III/Siliwangi () is an Indonesian Army Regional Military Command that covers Banten and West Java province. The division was formed during the Indonesian National Revolution by what was then known as the People's Secu ...

, but was unaware that APRA forces led by Captain

Raymond Westerling Raymond Pierre Paul Westerling (31 August 1919 – 26 November 1987) was a Dutch military officer of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army. He orchestrated a counter-guerrilla operation in Sulawesi during the Indonesian National Revolution ...

had attacked the division headquarters. Lembong was brutally killed by APRA soldiers. The place where Lembong was killed is now a museum associated with the

. The street where this museum is located is now called Lembong.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lembong, Adolf 1910 births 1950 deaths Guerrillas Indonesian military personnel Indonesian Christians Minahasa people People from Minahasa Regency