The Great Raid - 30 January 1945 

The purpose of the raid was to rescue over 500 survivors of the Bataan Death March.

Upon the fall of the Philippines, tens of thousands of Americans were captured by the Japanese. Of the several thousand that survived the infamous Bataan Death March, just over 500 were held in the prison camp at Cabanatuan.

On this night in 1945, a group of more than 100 Army Rangers [from the 6th Ranger Battalion], Alamo Scouts and Filipino guerrillas traveled over 30 miles behind Japanese lines to reach the camp.

Along the route, other guerrillas in the villages muzzled dogs and put chickens in cages lest they alert the Japanese. Some of them weighed so little the Rangers could carry two men on their backs.

At a rendezvous point, trucks and 26 carabao (a type of water buffalo) carts waited to carry them to safety. Villagers along the way contributed more carts because the Americans had little or no clothing and shoes, and it became increasingly difficult for them to walk. By the time they reached American lines, 106 carts were being used.

In the 30-minute raid, the 133 Rangers of the 6th Ranger Battalion and 250 - 275 Philippine Scouts liberated 552 American military and civilian POWs. Total losses were 2 Rangers killed and two wounded, 2 prisoners died of wounds, and 21 Scouts were wounded.

The Japanese suffered 500 - 1,000 killed, and the loss of four tanks. It was the most successful POW rescue in history.