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{{Coord|15|30|34|N|121|02|40|E|region:PH_type:landmark|display=title}}
{{Infobox Military Conflict
|conflict=Raid at Cabanatuan
|image=[[File:POWs celebrate.jpg|300px|alt=A couple hundred men are all facing the camera, smiling and cheering. Many have their hands raised. The men are wearing uniforms, t-shirts, and shorts. Huts and trees can be seen in the background.]]
|caption=Former Cabanatuan POWs in celebration, January 30, 1945
|partof=[[World War II]], [[Pacific War|Pacific theater]]
(contracted; show full)
|casualties2=530–1,000 killed
}}
{{Campaignbox Philippines}}
The '''Raid at Cabanatuan''' was a rescue mission near [[Cabanatuan]], [[Commonwealth of the Philippines|Philippines]] on January 30, 1945 by [[United States Army Rangers]], [[Alamo Scouts]], and [[Filipino people|Filipino]] [[guerrilla warfare|guerrillas]] that resulted in the liberation of 
516over 500 [[prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] (POWs) from a Japanese [[POW camp]] during [[World War II]]. After the surrender of tens of thousands of American troops during the [[Battle of Bataan|battle for Bataan]], many prisoners were sent to the Cabanatuan prisoner camp after the [[Bataan Death March]]. As the Japanese removed the majority of the prisoners from the camp to other areas, just over 500 American and other [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] POWs remained.

(contracted; show full)TV channel)|History Channel]]|airdate=December&nbsp;1, 2006|season=2|number=5|minutes=35:33}}</ref> Pajota suggested that to distract the guards, an [[United States Army Air Forces]] (USAAF) airplane should buzz the camp to divert the guards' eyes to the sky. Mucci agreed with the idea and a radio request was sent to command to ask for a plane to fly over the camp while the men made their way across the field.<ref name="Sides 17980">{{harvnb|Sides|2001|p=179–180}}</ref>
 In preparation for any possible injuries or wounds received during the encounter with the Japanese, the battalion surgeon, Cpt. Jimmy Fisher, developed a makeshift hospital in the Platero schoolhouse.<ref name="Rottman 38">{{harvnb|Rottman|2009|p=38}}</ref>

[[File:Capt. Fisher.jpg|right|thumb|alt=Two men in military uniforms are at the center of the image talking and smiling. Several other men as well as trees and a hut can be seen in the background.|Captain James Fisher with Robert Prince]]
(contracted; show full)rilla from each group was given a bazooka to destroy any armored vehicles.<ref name="Breuer 164"/> After all of the POWs and the remainder of the attacking force had reached the Pampanga River meeting point, Prince would fire a second flare to indicate to the ambush sites to pull back (gradually, if they faced opposition) and head to Plateros.<ref name="Breuer 165"/>

As the POWs had no knowledge of the upcoming assault, they went through their normal routine that night. The
y we prior day, two Filipino boys had thrown rocks into the prisoner side of the camp with notes attached, "Be ready to go out."<ref name="Rottman 40">{{harvnb|Rottman|2009|p=40}}</ref> The POWS assumed that the notes were pranks and they were disregarded. The POWS were increasingly becoming more wary of the Japanese guards, figuring that anytime in the next few days they could be massacred for any reason. The POWs figured that the Japanese would not want the prisoners to be rescued by advancing American forces, regain their strength, and return to fight the Japanese again. In addition, the Japanese could kill the prisoners to prevent them from telling of the atrocities of the Bataan Death March or the conditions in the camp.<ref name="Sides 234">{{harvnb|Sides|2001|p=234}}</ref> With the limited Japanese guard, several prisoners had previously decided that they would make an escape attempt around 20:00.<ref name="Breuer 166">{{harvnb|Breuer|1994|p=166}}</ref><ref name="Sides 268">{{harvnb|Sides|2001|p=268}}</ref>

== Prisoner rescue ==
[[File:Northrop P-61.jpg|thumb|alt=Black and white image of a two-seater airplane in flight|A P-61 Black Widow, similar to the one that distracted Japanese guards as American forces crawled towards the camp.]]
At 17:00, a few hours after Mucci approved Prince's plan, the Rangers departed from Platero. White clothes were tied around their left arms to prevent friendly fire.<ref name="Rottman 43">{{harvnb|Rottman|2009|p=43}}</ref> They crossed the Pampanga River and then at 17:45 Cpt. Prince and Lt. Murphy's men parted ways to surround the camp.<ref name="Sides 224"/><ref name="Breuer 166"/> Cpts. Pajota and Joson and their guerrilla forces each headed to their ambush sites. The Rangers under Prince made their way to the main gate and stopped about 700&nbsp;yards (640&nbsp;m) from the camp to wait for nightfall and the P-61aircraft distraction.<ref name="Breuer 166"/>

Meanwhile, a [[P-61 Black Widow]] from the 547th Night Fighter Squadron had taken off at 18:00, piloted by Capt. Kenneth Schrieber and 1st Lt. Bonnie Rucks.<ref name="Sides 2480">{{harvnb|Sides|2001|p=248–250}}</ref> About 45&nbsp;minutes before the attack, Capt Schrieber cut the left engine at 1,500&nbsp;feet (450&nbsp;m) over the camp. He restarted it, creating a loud backfire, and repeated the procedure twice more, losing altitude to 200&nbsp;feet (60&nbsp;m). Pretending to be a crippled plane, Schrieber headed toward low hills, clearing them by a mere 30 feet (10&nbsp;m). To the Japanese observers, it seemed the plane had crashed and they watched, waiting for a fiery explosion. Schrieber repeated this several times while also performing various aerobatic maneuvers. The ruse continued for twenty minutes, creating a much-needed diversion for the Rangers inching their way toward the camp on their bellies.<ref name="Sides 2480"/><ref name="Shoot3620">{{Cite episode|title=WWII: Raid on the Bataan Death Camp|series=Shootout!|serieslink=Shootout|network=[[History (TV channel)|History Channel]]|airdate=December&nbsp;1, 2006|season=2|number=5|minutes=36:20}}</ref> Prince later commended the pilots' actions: "The idea of an aerial decoy was a little unusual and honestly, I didn't th(contracted; show full)
By 22:00, the Rangers and POWs arrived at Plateros, where they rested for half an hour.<ref name="Breuer 187"/><ref name="Sides 299"/><ref name="Sides 302">{{harvnb|Sides|2001|p=302}}</ref>
 A radio message was sent and received by Sixth Army at 23:00 that the mission had been a success and that they were returning with the rescued prisoners to American lines.<ref name="Rottman 54">{{harvnb|Rottman|2009|p=54}}</ref> After a headcount, it was discovered that POW Edwin Rose, a deaf British soldier, was missing.<ref name="Sides 300">{{harvnb|Sides|2001|p=300}}</ref> Mucci dictated that none of the Rangers could be spared to search for him, so he sent several guerrillas to search for him in the morning.<ref name="Sides 300"/> It was later learned that Rose had fallen asleep in the latrine prior to the attack.<ref name="Breuer 184">{{harvnb|Breuer|1994|p=184}}</ref&g(contracted; show full)he collection of a large number of death certificates and cemetery layouts.<ref name="Zedrick 198"/> Other items collected included diaries, poems, and sketchbooks.<ref name="Sides 327"/> The American soldiers also paid each of the carabao cart drivers who had helped to evacuate the POWs five&nbsp;pesos.<ref name="Zedrick 198"/><ref name="Alexander 255">{{harvnb|Alexander|2009|p=255}}</ref>

== Outcome and historical significance ==

{| style="float: right;" border="1"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Prisoners rescued'''<ref name="Rottman 61">{{harvnb|Rottman|2009|p=61}}</ref>
|-
| American soldiers||464
|-
| British soldiers||22
|-
| Dutch soldiers||3
|-
| American civilians||28
|-
| Norwegian civilians||2
|-
| British civilian||1
|-
| Canadian civilian||1
|-
| Filipino civilian||1
|-
| Total||522
|}⏎
[[File:AlamoScoutsRaidCabanatuanFeb1945.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Black-and-white image of ten men in two rows, the top row standing and the bottom row crouching, are all facing the camera. They are wearing military attire and are holding rifles.|Alamo Scouts after the raid]]
The raid was very successful—516489 POWs were liberated.<ref name="Alexander 251">{{harvnb|Alexander|2009|p=251}}</ref>, along with 33 civilians. The total included 4892&nbsp;Americans, 23&nbsp;British (this number also includes the later-rescued Edwin Rose), three&nbsp;Dutch, two&nbsp;Norwegians, one&nbsp;DutchCanadian, and one&nbsp;Filipino.<ref name="Alexander 255"/><ref name="Zedrick 199">{{harvnb|Zedrick|1995|p=199}}</ref><ref name="Johnson 263">{{harvnb|Johnson|2002|p=263}}</refRottman 61"/> The rescue allowed the prisoners to tell of the Bataan and Corregidor atrocities, which sparked a new rush of resolve for the war against Japan.<ref name="Zedrick 199"/>{{harvnb|Zedrick|1995|p=199}}</ref><ref name="Johnson 264">{{harvnb|Johnson|2002|p=264}}</ref> Prince gave a great deal of credit for the success of the raid to others: "Any success we had was due not only to our efforts but to the Alamo Scouts and Air Force. The pilots (Capt. Kenneth R. Schrieber and Lt. Bonnie B. Rucks) of the plane that flew so low over the camp were incredibly brave men."<ref name="LJLiberation"/> Some of the Rangers and Scouts went on bond drive tours around the United(contracted; show full)harvnb|Breuer|1994|p=207}}</ref> The Japanese were dealt a great propaganda blow, and their radio announcer [[Tokyo Rose]] announced that Japanese submarines, ships, and planes were hunting the ship.<ref name="Sides 324">{{harvnb|Sides|2001|p=324}}</ref> The threats proved to be a bluff, and the ''General Anderson'' safely arrived in [[San Francisco Bay]] on March&nbsp;8, 1945.<ref name="Sides 329">{{harvnb|Sides|2001|p=329}}</ref>


News of the rescue was released to the public on February 2.<ref name="Rottman 56">{{harvnb|Rottman|2009|p=56}}</ref> The feat was celebrated by MacArthur's soldiers, Allied correspondents, and the American public, for the raid had touched an emotional chord among Americans concerned about the fate of the defenders of [[Bataan]] and [[Corregidor]]. Family members of the POWs were contacted by telegram that they had been rescued.<ref name="StTelegram"/> News of the raid was broadcast on numerous radio outlets and newspaper front pages.<ref name="Breuer 202">{{harvnb|Breuer|1994|p=202}}</ref> Many of the Rangers and POWs were interviewed to describe the conditions of the camp as well as the events of the raid.<ref name="Hogan 88">{{harvnb|Hogan|1992|p=88}}</ref> The enthusiasm over the raid was later overshadowed by other Pacific events, including the [[Battle of Iwo Jima|battle for Iwo Jima]] and the dropping of the [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki]].<ref name="Johnson 264"/><ref name="Sides 328">{{harvnb|Sides|2001|p=328}}</ref> The raid was soon followed by an even more successful [[raid at Los Baños]] on February&nbsp;23 where 2,147 Allied POWs and civilian prisoners were rescued.<ref name="Alexander 270">{{harvnb|Alexander|2009|p=270}}</ref>

{{quote box|width=30em|bgcolor=#c6dbf7|qalign=left|quote="People everywhere try to thank us. I think the thanks should go the other way. I'll be grateful for the rest of my life that I had a chance to do something in this war that was not destructive. Nothing for me can ever compare with the satisfaction I got from helping to free our prisoners."|source=—Capt. Prince, reflecting on the public reaction to the mission<ref name="Breuer 206">{{harvnb|Breuer|1994|p=206}}</ref> }}
General [[Douglas MacArthur]]General [[Douglas MacArthur]] spoke about his reaction to the raid: "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."<ref name="O'Donnell 178">{{harvnb|O'Donnell|2003|p=178}}</ref> He presented the awards to the soldiers who participated in the raid on March&nbsp;3, 1945. Although Lt. Col. Mucci was nominated for the [[Medal of Honor]], he and Capt. Prince both received [[Distinguished Service Cross (United States)|Distinguished Service Crosses]]. Mucci was promoted to colonel and was given command of the 1st Regiment of the [[6th Infantry Division (United States)|6th Infantry Division]].<ref name="Breuer 211">{{harvnb|Breuer|1994|p=211}}</ref> All other American officers and selected enlisted received [[Silver Star]]s.<ref name="Breuer 205">{{harvnb|Breuer|1994|p=205}}</ref> The remaining American enlisted men and the Filipino guerrilla officers were all awarded [[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze Stars]].<ref name="Breuer 205"/> Lts. William Nellist and Thomas Rounsaville and the other twelve Scouts received Presidential Unit Citations.<ref name="Alexander 6">{{harvnb|Alexander|2009|p=6}}</ref>

In late 1945, the graves of the American troops who died at the camp were exhumed and the men moved to other cemeteries.<ref name="Johnson 276">{{harvnb|Johnson|2002|p=276}}</ref> Land was donated in the late 1990s by the Filipinos to create a memorial. The site of the Cabanatuan camp is now a park that includes a memorial wall listing the 2,656 American prisoners who died there.<ref name="Sides 334">{{harvnb|Sides|2001|p=334}}</ref> The memorial was financed by former American POWs and veterans.<ref name="Johnson 276"/> A joint resolution by Congress and President [[Ronald Reagan]] designated April 12, 1982 as "American Salute to Cabanatuan Prisoner of War Memorial Day".<ref name="Carson 247">{{harvnb|Carson|1997|p=247}}</ref>

== Depictions in film ==
{{quote box|width=30em|bgcolor=#c6dbf7|qalign=left|quote="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."|source=—General [[Douglas MacArthur]]<ref name="O'Donnell 178">{{harvnb|O'Donnell|2003|p=178}}</ref> and is maintained by the U.S. Battlesites Commission.<ref name="Johnson 276"/><ref name="Rottman 62"/> A joint resolution by Congress and President [[Ronald Reagan]] designated April 12, 1982 as "American Salute to Cabanatuan Prisoner of War Memorial Day".<ref name="Carson 247">{{harvnb|Carson|1997|p=247}}</ref> In Cabanatuan City, a hospital is named for guerrilla leader Eduardo Joson.<ref name="Rottman 62">{{harvnb|Rottman|2009|p=62}}</ref>

== Depictions in film ==
{{quote box|width=30em|bgcolor=#c6dbf7|qalign=left|quote="People everywhere try to thank us. I think the thanks should go the other way. I'll be grateful for the rest of my life that I had a chance to do something in this war that was not destructive. Nothing for me can ever compare with the satisfaction I got from helping to free our prisoners."|source=—Capt. Prince, reflecting on the public reaction to the mission<ref name="Breuer 206">{{harvnb|Breuer|1994|p=206}}</ref> }}
Several films have focused on the raid, while also including archival footage of the POWs.<ref name="WarEthos"/> [[Edward Dmytryk]]'s 1945 film ''[[Back to Bataan]]'' starring [[John Wayne]] opens by retelling the story of the raid on the Cabanatuan POW camp. Based on the books ''The Great Raid on Cabanatuan'' and ''[[Ghost Soldiers]]'', the 2005 [[John Dahl]] film ''[[The Great Raid]]'' focused on the ra(contracted; show full)[[Category:Japanese POW and internment camps]]
[[Category:Bataan Death March]]
[[Category:Battles involving Japan]]
[[Category:Battles involving the United States]]

[[es:El gran rescate]]
[[vi:Cuộc đột kích Cabanatuan]]
[[zh:卡巴那图营救]]