Editing Mindanao (section)

===World War II===
In April 1942 Mindanao, along with the rest of the Philippines, officially entered [[World War II]] after [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]] soldiers invaded key cities in the islands.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chen |first=C. Peter |date=2006 |title=Invasion of the Philippine Islands |work=World War II Database |url=http://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=46 |access-date=July 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170717140040/http://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=46 |archive-date=July 17, 2017}}</ref> Many towns and cities were burned to the ground in Mindanao, most notably Davao City, Zamboanga City, Lanao, Cagayan de Oro, Iligan City, and Butuan.<ref>{{Cite web |title=During the Japanese Period |url=http://www.iligan.gov.ph/about-iligan/history/during-the-japanese-period/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711003942/http://www.iligan.gov.ph/about-iligan/history/during-the-japanese-period/ |archive-date=July 11, 2017 |access-date=July 12, 2017 |website=Iligan City Government|date=November 22, 2012 }}</ref> In the months of April and May 1942, Japanese forces defeated US troops commanded by [[William F. Sharp]] and [[Guy Fort]], in a battle that started at [[Malabang, Lanao del Sur|Malabang]] (a town close to [[Lanao del Sur|Gandamatu Macadar, Lanao]]) and ended close to the town of [[Ganassi, Lanao del Sur|Ganassi, Lanao]]. Davao City was among the earliest to be occupied by the invading Japanese forces. They immediately fortified the city as a bastion of the Japanese defense system.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}

Davao City was subjected by the returning forces of Gen. [[Douglas MacArthur]] to constant bombing before the American Liberation Forces landed in [[Leyte]] in October 1944.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Schmidt |first=Larry |title=American Involvement in the Filipino Resistance Movement on Mindanao During the Japanese Occupation, 1942–1945 |date=1982 |degree=Master's |publisher=U.S. Army Command and General Staff College |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/b068659.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=May 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508043005/https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/b068659.pdf}}</ref> Filipino soldiers and local [[Wendell Fertig|guerrilla]] fighters were actively fighting Japanese forces until liberation at the conclusion of the [[Battle of Mindanao]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Clark |date=April 3, 1942 |title=Most of Philippines Still Free of Invading Japanese |page=7 |work=St. Joseph Gazette |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rNZeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BFMNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1233,4394025&hl=en |via=news.google.com}}</ref>