Posted on Jan 30, 2018
Rescue of Allied POWs from Japanese Cabanatuan prison camp...HD Stock Footage
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Rangers’ Raid on Cabanatuan a Classic Joint Special Operation
By SOFREP
The raid on Cabanatuan involved troops from the US Army Rangers, Alamo Scouts, and the Filipino guerrillas. All would play key roles in the operation.
After the fall of the Philippines and Bataan in the early day of World War II, Cabanatuan was the largest POW camp in the country. At its peak, it held over 5000 prisoners but by the time of the raid, also known as the “Great Raid”, it held just a bit more than 500. The prisoners had survived the Bataan Death March, brutal conditions in the camp as well as disease and malnutrition.
General Douglas MacArthur authorized the rescue attempt when it was feared that the Japanese were planning on murdering the prisoners before the US forces would liberate them. The Japanese had already done so at the Puerto Princesa Prison Camp on the island of Palawan. They herded 150 prisoners into an air raid shelter where they were doused with gasoline and burned alive.
The Plan:
The initial plan set up by LTC Henry Mucci, commander of the 6th Ranger Bn. had two teams of Alamo Scouts, 14 in all and they would set up a reconnaissance and surveillance detachment on the camp.
Mucci had 120 Rangers from Company C and Company F. They had to march 30 miles behind the Japanese lines to reach the camp undetected to do the assault. The plan was to set up around the camp, put fire on the Japanese guards, eliminating them, rescue the prisoners and get them all back to friendly lines.
The assault was to be led by Captain Robert Prince with 90 Rangers. The support element of 30 Rangers was led by Lt. John Murphy.
The Rangers were bolstered with 200 Filipino guerrillas under the command of CPT Juan Pajota who would serve as guides and support the assault. Pajota’s men set up a roadblock on a bridge spanning the Cabu River to stop Japanese reinforcements from reaching the camp.
The Rangers would have to crawl across open terrain where the Japanese had cleared, to cut down on prisoner escape attempts. To distract the guards, an Army Air Corps P-61 Black Widow buzzed the camp, performing aerobatics and backfiring his engine in an attempt to allow Prince’s men to get in position. During this time, Filipino guerrillas cut the telephone lines to Cabanatuan where the other Japanese forces were.
The Assault:
At 1940 hours Murphy’s men put devastating fire on the Japanese positions and within 15 seconds had neutralized every guard tower and pillbox. One Ranger blew the lock of the gate with a .45 pistol.
The Rangers at the main gate shifted fire in the Japanese guard barracks and the officer’s quarters. Bazooka teams targeted a shed that was thought to have tanks but Japanese soldiers attempting to flee in two trucks were targeted and destroyed.
Prince’s Rangers rushed the compound where the prisoners, fearing that the raid was a Japanese ruse to lure them out to be killed, hid from their American rescuers. But eventually, the prisoners, led by the Rangers made their way to the main gate. Many had to be carried due to their weakened condition.
A Japanese mortar fired three rounds injuring several Rangers and Filipino guerrillas, mortally wounding Ranger Bn. surgeon CPT James Fisher. Murphy’s men from Company F quickly killed the soldier on the mortar.
At the sound of the attack on the camp, CPT Pajota’s guerrillas fired on the Japanese forces from across the river, detonating explosives on the bridge that didn’t destroy it, but blew a hole large enough where tanks or other vehicles couldn’t cross. One guerrilla destroyed four Japanese tanks with a bazooka, having just been trained on its use by the Rangers earlier.
A Japanese flanking force trying the cross the river behind Pajota’s guerrillas was spotted and annihilated.
Prince’s men cleared the camp and he fired a red star cluster to indicate that the last men had left the camp. The Rangers carried and led the POWs to the Pampanga River, where a caravan of 26 carabao carts waited to transport them to Plateros, driven by local villagers organized by CPT Pajota.
Once all of the carts and Rangers had crossed the river, Prince fired a second red star cluster to signal Pajota’s men to withdraw. Mucci radioed the Sixth Army HQs that the mission was a success and that they had all of the POWs safely out of the camp.
The Americans reached their lines at Talavera on January 31, the amount of carts had swelled from 26 to 102 as many of the prisoners found it increasingly difficult to walk. The raid freed 489 POWs and 33 civilians.
General MacArthur wrote about the raid stating, “No incident of the campaign in the Pacific has given me such satisfaction as the release of the POWs at Cabanatuan. The mission was brilliantly successful.” Mucci and Prince were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for their actions. All the other officers and several Rangers received Silver Stars. The rest of the force received Bronze Stars. The fourteen Alamo Scouts received Presidential Unit Citations.
The raid was one of the most successful POW rescue attempts in US military history and serves as a beacon with what would be the joint special operations of today. The Rangers have a history rich in tradition. The raid at Cabanatuan is among their finest moments.
https://sofrep.com/81424/rangers-raid-cabanatuan-classic-joint-special-operation/
http://www.neatorama.com/2015/02/23/Mission-Impossible-The-Raid-on-Cabanatuan/
http://olive-drab.com/od_history_ww2_stories_1945cabanatuan.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_at_Cabanatuan
Additional video footage :
https://youtu.be/FduQX_cA8ZE
https://youtu.be/pqaYva1sFTg
@ col mikel COL Mikel J. Burroughs @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen F. @ ltc wayne LTC Wayne Brandon @ ltc jeff LTC Jeff Shearer @ ltc frank LTC (Join to see) @ maj william Maj William W. 'Bill' Price @ capt marty Maj Marty Hogan @ smsmgt doc SMSgt Minister Gerald A. "Doc" Thomas @ tsgt joe TSgt Joe C. @ sra christopher SrA Christopher B. @ ssg robert SSG Robert Webster @ sgt randy Sgt Randy Wilber @ sgt david SGT (Join to see) @ sgt david SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth @ sp5 mark SP5 Mark Kuzinski @ cpl dave CPL Dave Hoover @ spc margaret SPC Margaret Higgins @ spc diana SPC Diana D. @ po1 chip PO1 William "Chip" Nagel @ po1 tony PO1 Tony Holland
By SOFREP
The raid on Cabanatuan involved troops from the US Army Rangers, Alamo Scouts, and the Filipino guerrillas. All would play key roles in the operation.
After the fall of the Philippines and Bataan in the early day of World War II, Cabanatuan was the largest POW camp in the country. At its peak, it held over 5000 prisoners but by the time of the raid, also known as the “Great Raid”, it held just a bit more than 500. The prisoners had survived the Bataan Death March, brutal conditions in the camp as well as disease and malnutrition.
General Douglas MacArthur authorized the rescue attempt when it was feared that the Japanese were planning on murdering the prisoners before the US forces would liberate them. The Japanese had already done so at the Puerto Princesa Prison Camp on the island of Palawan. They herded 150 prisoners into an air raid shelter where they were doused with gasoline and burned alive.
The Plan:
The initial plan set up by LTC Henry Mucci, commander of the 6th Ranger Bn. had two teams of Alamo Scouts, 14 in all and they would set up a reconnaissance and surveillance detachment on the camp.
Mucci had 120 Rangers from Company C and Company F. They had to march 30 miles behind the Japanese lines to reach the camp undetected to do the assault. The plan was to set up around the camp, put fire on the Japanese guards, eliminating them, rescue the prisoners and get them all back to friendly lines.
The assault was to be led by Captain Robert Prince with 90 Rangers. The support element of 30 Rangers was led by Lt. John Murphy.
The Rangers were bolstered with 200 Filipino guerrillas under the command of CPT Juan Pajota who would serve as guides and support the assault. Pajota’s men set up a roadblock on a bridge spanning the Cabu River to stop Japanese reinforcements from reaching the camp.
The Rangers would have to crawl across open terrain where the Japanese had cleared, to cut down on prisoner escape attempts. To distract the guards, an Army Air Corps P-61 Black Widow buzzed the camp, performing aerobatics and backfiring his engine in an attempt to allow Prince’s men to get in position. During this time, Filipino guerrillas cut the telephone lines to Cabanatuan where the other Japanese forces were.
The Assault:
At 1940 hours Murphy’s men put devastating fire on the Japanese positions and within 15 seconds had neutralized every guard tower and pillbox. One Ranger blew the lock of the gate with a .45 pistol.
The Rangers at the main gate shifted fire in the Japanese guard barracks and the officer’s quarters. Bazooka teams targeted a shed that was thought to have tanks but Japanese soldiers attempting to flee in two trucks were targeted and destroyed.
Prince’s Rangers rushed the compound where the prisoners, fearing that the raid was a Japanese ruse to lure them out to be killed, hid from their American rescuers. But eventually, the prisoners, led by the Rangers made their way to the main gate. Many had to be carried due to their weakened condition.
A Japanese mortar fired three rounds injuring several Rangers and Filipino guerrillas, mortally wounding Ranger Bn. surgeon CPT James Fisher. Murphy’s men from Company F quickly killed the soldier on the mortar.
At the sound of the attack on the camp, CPT Pajota’s guerrillas fired on the Japanese forces from across the river, detonating explosives on the bridge that didn’t destroy it, but blew a hole large enough where tanks or other vehicles couldn’t cross. One guerrilla destroyed four Japanese tanks with a bazooka, having just been trained on its use by the Rangers earlier.
A Japanese flanking force trying the cross the river behind Pajota’s guerrillas was spotted and annihilated.
Prince’s men cleared the camp and he fired a red star cluster to indicate that the last men had left the camp. The Rangers carried and led the POWs to the Pampanga River, where a caravan of 26 carabao carts waited to transport them to Plateros, driven by local villagers organized by CPT Pajota.
Once all of the carts and Rangers had crossed the river, Prince fired a second red star cluster to signal Pajota’s men to withdraw. Mucci radioed the Sixth Army HQs that the mission was a success and that they had all of the POWs safely out of the camp.
The Americans reached their lines at Talavera on January 31, the amount of carts had swelled from 26 to 102 as many of the prisoners found it increasingly difficult to walk. The raid freed 489 POWs and 33 civilians.
General MacArthur wrote about the raid stating, “No incident of the campaign in the Pacific has given me such satisfaction as the release of the POWs at Cabanatuan. The mission was brilliantly successful.” Mucci and Prince were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for their actions. All the other officers and several Rangers received Silver Stars. The rest of the force received Bronze Stars. The fourteen Alamo Scouts received Presidential Unit Citations.
The raid was one of the most successful POW rescue attempts in US military history and serves as a beacon with what would be the joint special operations of today. The Rangers have a history rich in tradition. The raid at Cabanatuan is among their finest moments.
https://sofrep.com/81424/rangers-raid-cabanatuan-classic-joint-special-operation/
http://www.neatorama.com/2015/02/23/Mission-Impossible-The-Raid-on-Cabanatuan/
http://olive-drab.com/od_history_ww2_stories_1945cabanatuan.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_at_Cabanatuan
Additional video footage :
https://youtu.be/FduQX_cA8ZE
https://youtu.be/pqaYva1sFTg
@ col mikel COL Mikel J. Burroughs @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen F. @ ltc wayne LTC Wayne Brandon @ ltc jeff LTC Jeff Shearer @ ltc frank LTC (Join to see) @ maj william Maj William W. 'Bill' Price @ capt marty Maj Marty Hogan @ smsmgt doc SMSgt Minister Gerald A. "Doc" Thomas @ tsgt joe TSgt Joe C. @ sra christopher SrA Christopher B. @ ssg robert SSG Robert Webster @ sgt randy Sgt Randy Wilber @ sgt david SGT (Join to see) @ sgt david SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth @ sp5 mark SP5 Mark Kuzinski @ cpl dave CPL Dave Hoover @ spc margaret SPC Margaret Higgins @ spc diana SPC Diana D. @ po1 chip PO1 William "Chip" Nagel @ po1 tony PO1 Tony Holland
WWII World War Two
POW/MIA
Ranger
Military History
Philippines
Posted 7 y ago
Responses: 6
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Thanks for reminding us SGT John " Mac " McConnell
Images: 1945-01-30 Raid at Cabanatuan POW camp; This famous picture from the National Archives, shows how poorly the Japanese fed these two former POWs and the other POWs. Both men were liberated by American Rangers from Cabanatuan POW Camp in the Philippine Islands in January, 1945.; 1945-03 from Cabanatuan-Proudly wearing Marine uniforms for the first time in three years, 16 US Marines liberated from the Japanese prison camp at Cabanatuan, near Manila, pose with the commander of the picked Army Rangers who rescued them." The Marines in the photograph include Front row, (left to right): Edward L. Berry; Harry W. Pinto; Henry A. Mucci; Fred S. Vinton; John B. Kelly; Chester J. Easton-Center row: Jack C. Ostrom; Edward S. Gordon; Milton Englin; Eugene C. Commander; Stanley E. Bronk-Back row: Neil Iovino; Kenneth Mize; Dennis Rainwater, Jr.; Harry Arnold; and Herman J. Silk." From the John M. Cook Collection (COLL/1770) at the Archives Branch, Marine Corps History Division
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Wayne Brandon LTC Bill Koski Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown Maj Marty Hogan MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSgt Robert Marx PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SGT Robert George SP5 Mark Kuzinski SP5 Robert Ruck SPC Margaret Higgins SGT Charles H. Hawes SGT (Join to see)
Images: 1945-01-30 Raid at Cabanatuan POW camp; This famous picture from the National Archives, shows how poorly the Japanese fed these two former POWs and the other POWs. Both men were liberated by American Rangers from Cabanatuan POW Camp in the Philippine Islands in January, 1945.; 1945-03 from Cabanatuan-Proudly wearing Marine uniforms for the first time in three years, 16 US Marines liberated from the Japanese prison camp at Cabanatuan, near Manila, pose with the commander of the picked Army Rangers who rescued them." The Marines in the photograph include Front row, (left to right): Edward L. Berry; Harry W. Pinto; Henry A. Mucci; Fred S. Vinton; John B. Kelly; Chester J. Easton-Center row: Jack C. Ostrom; Edward S. Gordon; Milton Englin; Eugene C. Commander; Stanley E. Bronk-Back row: Neil Iovino; Kenneth Mize; Dennis Rainwater, Jr.; Harry Arnold; and Herman J. Silk." From the John M. Cook Collection (COLL/1770) at the Archives Branch, Marine Corps History Division
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Wayne Brandon LTC Bill Koski Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown Maj Marty Hogan MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSgt Robert Marx PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SGT Robert George SP5 Mark Kuzinski SP5 Robert Ruck SPC Margaret Higgins SGT Charles H. Hawes SGT (Join to see)
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Here is an item that some will not know -
"Throughout the war the Alamo Scouts conducted the doctrinal missions of Special Reconnaissance, Direct Action, Foreign Internal Defense, and Unconventional Warfare. In less than seventeen months in the field the Alamo Scouts earned 118 combat decorations and numerous other awards. The unit was unceremoniously disbanded in late November 1945 with a war record unmatched in United States military history. In 1988 the Alamo Scouts were awarded the Special Forces Tab recognizing the unit as a forerunner of the modern Special Forces."
And here is another interesting tidbit: "From December 1943 to September 1945, approximately 250 enlisted men and seventy-five junior officers were graduated in eight training classes. Only 117 enlisted men and twenty-one officers were retained to form a total of ten field operational teams. Those graduates not retained returned to their parent units for utilization in a scouting and patrolling role." Compare that to the mission of Ranger School and one of the raison d'etre for the 1st Ranger Battalion being brought back in 1974.
"Throughout the war the Alamo Scouts conducted the doctrinal missions of Special Reconnaissance, Direct Action, Foreign Internal Defense, and Unconventional Warfare. In less than seventeen months in the field the Alamo Scouts earned 118 combat decorations and numerous other awards. The unit was unceremoniously disbanded in late November 1945 with a war record unmatched in United States military history. In 1988 the Alamo Scouts were awarded the Special Forces Tab recognizing the unit as a forerunner of the modern Special Forces."
And here is another interesting tidbit: "From December 1943 to September 1945, approximately 250 enlisted men and seventy-five junior officers were graduated in eight training classes. Only 117 enlisted men and twenty-one officers were retained to form a total of ten field operational teams. Those graduates not retained returned to their parent units for utilization in a scouting and patrolling role." Compare that to the mission of Ranger School and one of the raison d'etre for the 1st Ranger Battalion being brought back in 1974.
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SGT John " Mac " McConnell
Very interesting indeed SSG Robert Webster . Thanks for the addition my friend.
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