caption serviceyears laterwork branch commands death_place death_date birth_place allegiance awards placeofburial_label battles birth_date nickname rank image article_title name
colonel wendell fertig , 1963 1941-1954 mining and civil engineer businessman 25px united states army commanding officer , 10th military district - mindanao colorado 24 march 1975 la junta , colorado united states of america 1912 distinguished bronze star medal service cross distinguished service medal legion of merit place of burial world war ii 16 december 1900 `` -rrb- tatay '' -lrb- the old man , father 30px colonel 250px wendell fertig
 wendell fertig
wendell fertig

wendell fertig -lrb- 16 december 1900 -- 24 march 1975 -rrb- 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 .
