|
Wendell Fertig (16 December 1900 – 24 March 1975)〔Brooks 2003, p. 37.〕 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.〔Keats 1965, p. 10.〕 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.〔Schmidt 1982, p. 84.〕 Fertig led the guerrillas against the Japanese and their collaborators, mostly in hit-and-run raids and vital coast watching activities.〔Schmidt 1982, p. 174.〕 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.〔Keats 1965, p. 272.〕 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.〔Bernay 2002, p. 14.〕 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.〔Bernay 2002, p. 14.〕〔Keats 1965, p. 445.〕 One authority lists him among the top ten guerrilla leaders in history.〔Brooks 2003, p. 37.〕 ==Pre-war== Wendell Fertig was born in La Junta, Colorado, where he lived until he completed high school. He then studied engineering at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. After graduation from college, he married his wife Mary. In 1936, he and his family moved to the Philippines where he had a successful career as a civil engineer until the war broke out.〔Bernay 2002, p. 14.〕 Fertig was described as "tall, sandy-haired with an athletic build" and "being calm, genial, deliberate and possessing a remarkable memory and a great facility for remembering names."〔Schmidt 1982, p. 84.〕 His experience as an engineer,
Early in 1941, Fertig was on leave in Manila from his job on Samar. Due to his military classes in college, he held a reserve commission in the United States Army Corps of Engineers. As a result, he was called to duty on 1 June 1941,〔Schmidt 1982, p. 85.〕 as a captain (reserve) in the Army Engineers as the United States prepared for war in the Pacific theater.〔Keats 1965, p. 12.〕 At that time, U.S. analysts believed that the Philippines might be one of the first areas Japan would attack. Fertig's first assignments were as Assistant Engineer, Bataan Field Area, then as Engineer, North Luzon Area. By November 1941, he was Chief of the Construction Section, General Headquarters, and spent most of his time overseeing preparation and improvement of airfields throughout the Philippines.〔Schmidt 1982, p. 85.〕 In late 1941, the U.S. began evacuating the wives and children of military families. In January 1942, according to one of Fertig's daughters, Mary Fertig and their two children, Patricia (Hudson) and Jeannne, left on the last evacuation ship and returned to the United States.〔Bernay 2002, p. 14.〕 However, other sources have Fertig's family leaving the Philippines as early as the summer of 1941.〔Schmidt 1982, p. 85.〕〔Holmes 2009, p. 66.〕 This action was taken to relieve the concerns of officers and enlisted men, called to duty, about the welfare of their families. American civilian families (men, women and children) were not evacuated, so as not to lessen the morale of the citizens of the Philippines.〔Keats 1965, p. 12.〕 The native people of the Philippines, who could not leave, suffered terribly under the Japanese occupation. It is estimated that at least one out of every 20 Filipinos died at the hands of the Japanese during the occupation.〔Schmidt 1982, p. 36.〕〔Ramsey 1990, pp. 329–330.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wendell Fertig」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|