Wendell Fertig, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Wendell Fertig

American civil engineer

Date of Birth: 16-Dec-1900

Place of Birth: La Junta, Colorado, United States

Date of Death: 24-Mar-1975

Profession: engineer, civil engineer

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius


Show Famous Birthdays Today, United States

👉 Worldwide Celebrity Birthdays Today

About Wendell Fertig

  • Wendell Fertig (December 16, 1900 – March 24, 1975) was an American civil engineer, in the American-administered Commonwealth of the Philippines, who organized and commanded an American-Filipino guerrilla force on the Japanese-occupied, southern Philippine island of Mindanao during World War II. Fertig held a U.S.
  • Army reserve commission and was called into military service before the war in the Pacific began.
  • Ordered from Corregidor before its surrender to the Japanese, he was sent to Mindanao to assume command of engineer activities there.
  • Almost as soon as he arrived, the U.S.
  • Army forces on Mindanao surrendered, but Fertig refused to do so.
  • Fertig used his knowledge of the Filipino people to organize them into a guerrilla army and civilian government.
  • He also used his engineering knowledge to solve problems in supply and construction.Fertig led the guerrillas against the Japanese and their collaborators, mostly in hit-and-run raids and vital coast watching activities.
  • After making contact with U.S.
  • forces in the Pacific, the guerrillas began to receive supplies, but never enough to stage large-scale attacks.
  • More than once, the Japanese tried to destroy Fertig and his guerrilla army, committing large numbers of troops for this purpose.
  • At these times, Fertig had his forces retreat before the Japanese until they were also dispersed, then counterattacked the Japanese with local superiority in numbers.
  • This continued until American forces returned to the Philippines. After the war, Fertig returned to his civilian engineering career, but retained his reserve commission.
  • He spent four years as commander of the ROTC detachment at the Colorado School of Mines, his Alma mater, and served in a U.S.-based psychological warfare unit during the Korean War.
  • Leaving active duty in the mid-1950s, he ran a successful Colorado mining company until his death.
  • During his post-war years he was widely regarded as a hero by the people of Mindanao, and was a highly respected figure among the U.S.
  • Special Forces.
  • One authority lists him among the top ten guerrilla leaders in history.

Read more at Wikipedia

See Also