Mindoro - Other Information

Other Information

Mindoro is also home to the Tamaraw or Mindoro dwarf buffalo (Bubalus mindorensis), which is endemic to the island. The Tamaraw is a bovine related to the water buffalo and is an endangered species.

During World War II, Mindoro Island was where Bill Frederick of the U.S. 17th Army Air Corps piloted a B-25; he and his crew fought a Japanese naval force preparing to attack the joint U.S. and Philippine Commonwealth armed forces there. On the night of December 26, 1944, flying through intense anti-aircraft fire, Frederick's aircraft, the Sticky Kitty, was credited with sinking a lead Japanese Cruiser. The warplane, one of only eight aircraft available to defend the island's garrison and installation, flew repeated sorties during the night, resulting in a successful defense of the island.

The local Filipino troops and officers under the 4th, 5th, 41st, 42nd, 43rd, 45th, 46th, and 47th Infantry Divisions of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and 4th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary were helping the military conduct special operations in the island province of Mindoro from December 1944 to August 1945. They also helped local Mindoro guerrilla fighters and the U.S. and Australian troops defeat the Japanese Imperial forces during the Battle of Mindoro (December 13-16, 1944) and during 1945 until World War II ended.

The Second Battle of Mindoro (January to August 1945) during the Second World War also involved the Philippine Commonwealth and Allied military forces, the local Filipino soldiers of the 4th, 5th, 41st, 42nd, 43rd, 45th, 46th and 47th Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and 4th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary, as well as the local guerrilla resistance fighters and the U.S. and Australian troops. Capturing the islands of Mindoro included the province of Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro in the defeat of the Japanese Imperial forces. The casualties of the second battle of Mindoro in 1945 included 34,000+ Filipino troops and local recognized guerrillas killed and wounded in action, 27,000+ American and Australian troops killed and wounded in action, and over 253,000+ Japanese troops killed, wounded and captured in action.