He got lost in a mountain at the age of 12 after an argument with his father. Now his story serves as a dire warning

After being separated from his family on Maine’s highest peak in 1939 at age 12, Donn Fendler credited wild berries and a Boy Scout’s “never give up attitude” for his survival.

They helped him through nine grueling days, battling hunger, fatigue, hallucinations, insects, and leeches in the dense wilderness of Mount Katahdin. He even lost his shoes in the river.

Fendler’s gripping story of survival was front-page news in the build-up to World War II, and the boy’s bravery earned him an award from President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

His memoir, Lost on a Mountain in Maine, has entertained generations of schoolchildren in the Pine Tree State. Road maps, a comic book and now a Hollywood movie tell the story of the journey.

The film, which takes its name from Fendler’s book and whose producers include Sylvester Stallone, revives the drama of a child separated from his strict father, twin brother and others.

Thank goodness there is a happy ending.

Fendler was lost from his group in July of that year due to a fast-moving storm as they approached the summit of Katahdin.

Within a few hours he realized he was ‘in trouble’ and began to ‘panick’ Bangor Daily News in 2009.

Donn Fendler, a skinny 12-year-old from Rye, New York, is shown wearing a sack as a sleeping bag in the Maine wilderness while losing 15 pounds.

Fendler disappeared atop Maine’s tallest mountain, the majestic Mount Katahdin in Baxter State Park at 1,269 feet.

So he turned to his scout skills, his ‘never give up attitude’, his faith in God and his prayers.

‘He taught me to stay calm and stay calm,’ he said.

He ate strawberries and blackberries and sheltered as best he could despite the cold nights.

The boy followed a stream and telephone line that took him to a hunting camp near Stacyville, about 35 miles from where he started.

The malnourished Fendler was rescued by Maine Guide Nelson McMoarn and his wife, Lena.

He was bruised, cut, hungry, had no pants or shoes, was covered in bug bites, and was 15 pounds lighter, but alive.

The bold headline in the Bangor Daily News on July 26, 1939, the day after the rescue, read: DONN FENDLER FOUND ALIVE.

Three photos of the skinny teenager and four stories about him graced the newspaper’s front page.

The child’s danger sparked a massive search and became the focus of newspaper headlines and late-night radio broadcasts.

Hundreds of volunteers flocked to the area to help; Messages of support poured in for Fendler’s parents.

In a 2009 interview, Fendler said that “prayers were sent to my mother by Western Union” from mothers across the country.

Three photos of skinny Donn Fendler and four stories about him grace the newspaper’s front page

Donn Fendler chats with a young reader at a book signing in Bangor, Maine, in 2011. He entertained hundreds of schoolchildren with his tale of adventure that spanned decades.

President Franklin Roosevelt presented 14-year-old Donn Fendler of Rye, New York, with a gold medal for bravery at the White House in Washington in 1940.

‘That’s what they did in those days,’ he said.

‘I guess it worked because I’m still standing here.’

His survival skills earned him recognition and he attended high school, studied at the University of Maine, and served in the U.S. Army for 28 years.

He married Maryrose ‘Ree’ Connolly in 1953 and they had four children.

He died in October 2016 at the age of 90, after describing his ordeal personally to hundreds of Maine youth over the decades.

Schoolchildren know this epic from his memoirs, written with Joseph B. Egan and published in September of the same year.

Kimberly Nielsen, a teacher at Crooked River Elementary School in Casco, says her third-grade students are excited about the text.

“I love that the overall theme is that Donn never gives up,” Nielsen told the AP.

‘He never gives up. ‘He goes and goes.’

His teenage son learned a valuable lesson from the book: Stay together in the wilderness.

The 16-year-old boy was recently hiking in Katahdin with his friends when a storm hit and they made the difficult but logical decision to return.

‘My son wanted to move on, but he knew they had to stay together,’ Nielsen said.

‘He learned that lesson from the book. ‘I’m 100 percent sure.’

The 98-minute film brings this wisdom and vintage atmosphere to the big screen.

The brave lad is played by Luke David Blumm, his devoted mother is played by Caitlin FitzGerald, and his strict father is played by Paul Sparks.

Donn Fendler, 12, whose feet are still bandaged from days spent alone in the woods, waves as he is honored in his hometown of Rye, New York.

The movie Lost on a Mountain in Maine takes its name from Fendler’s memoirs

In the film, Paul Sparks plays Fendler’s stern father and Caitlin FitzGerald plays his devoted mother.

Stallone’s Balboa Productions took on the project because the star loved the story of a brave underdog.

Filming took place in upstate New York; The crew battled bugs and waded through shoulder-high water for the canoe scenes.

Some scenes were shot on location in Katahdin and at a replica mountain peak built on a sound stage complete with granite stones, blowing wind, rain and lightning.

Director Andrew Boodhoo Kightlinger says the book is based on the book, drawing on other interviews and archival footage to highlight the importance of family and faith.

The filmmaker took Katahdin to audition for a directing role.

Adventure stories are a dime a dozen, he says, but Fendler’s resonates because it’s ‘about a father and son trying to connect.’

“All Donn wants is for his dad to tell him he loves him, but he can’t do that because he’s such an old-school dad,” Kightlinger says.

‘Every day on set I remind people that we’re making a movie about a son who just wants to hug his father.’

The director says there are echoes of pre-war America today.

‘There are political divisions, society is a bit tense,’ says Kightlinger.

‘Here’s a movie that reminds people of the power of community, the power of caring about your neighbors.’