![\"cabanatuan](\"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/cabanatuan-rescuers-300x202.png\")
<\/a><\/center><\/p>\nI’m a few days late, luckily they weren’t. But The Great Raid on the Cabanatuan POW Camp on the Philippine island of Luzon happened on January 30th, 1945, 70 years ago. The prisoners there had survived the Bataan Death March which began on April 9, 1942 with the surrender of the ill-prepared 60-80,000 US and Filipino troops after their three-months battle with the Japanese Army. Cabanatuan was the largest POW camp at one time housing more than 9000 POWs.<\/p>\n
Fearing that the Japanese would execute the POWs left at Cabanatuan, Lt. Col. Henry Mucci, the commander of the 6th Rangers led about 120 Rangers from C and F companies. They infiltrated enemy lines and humped 30 miles to the camp. The force linked up with about 200 local partisans and raided the camp.<\/p>\n
The Japanese lost about 500 troops in the raid, the Americans lost two raiders. Two prisoners died in the attempt, one died of excitement as he was being carried by a Ranger before he could get through the gate, another died of illness during the trip back. <\/p>\n
Edwin Rose, a deaf British prisoner, slept through the raid while he was in the latrine. When he awoke the next morning, he noticed that everyone was gone, so he walked out of the camp and was rescued by partisans.<\/p>\n
All in all, 492 Americans, 23 British (including Edwin Rose), three Dutch, two Norwegians, one Canadian, and one Filipino were rescued from the camp. Unfortunately, 2,656 Americans died at the camp during their 3-year imprisonment.<\/p>\n
![\"cabanatuan](\"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/cabanatuan-POWs_celebrate-300x230.jpg\")
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