Jan 30/31 1945 Daring Rescue from Japanese POW Camp

Seventy-five years ago, January 30 & 31 1945, 550 prisoners of war of the Imperial Japanese Army were rescued from Camp Cabantuan in the Philippines in a raid described in the book, Ghost Soldiers, and depicted in the movie "The Great Raid".

On January 30, 1945, 133 U.S. soldiers from the 6th U.S. Ranger Battalion and the Alamo Scouts - joined by more than 250 Filipino guerilla fighters - raided a Japanese POW camp near Cabanatuan City on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Their mission? To rescue more than 550 Allied prisoners of war that had been housed in the camp since completing the infamous Bataan Death March some three years earlier.

Journeying more than 30 miles behind enemy lines to Cabanatuan, the American and Filipino soldiers were heading into battle totally outnumbered. Some 1,200 Japanese soldiers were stationed in and around the camp with a further 8,000 men encamped nearby. Utilizing the element of surprise as well as the cover of darkness, the 383 men of the combined American-Filipino rescue force moved into position and executed a beautifully conceived plan to perfection.

The result? More than 1,000 Japanese soldiers killed and 4 Japanese tanks knocked out of action. Losses on the Allied side were disproportionately light with 2 Americans killed and 4 wounded. The Filipinos also suffered lightly with just 9 wounded. All but two of the Allied POWs survived the battle and the trek back to American lines.

Five young men from Bogalusa endured the 1942 Death March. Oliver Hartford perished during the march, but four others survived captivity. Raborn, Cutrer and May were put aboard "death ships" and sent to Japan to work in mines while Dr. Daniel was among the 550 prisoners rescured on Jan. 30/31. Cutrer gave evidence in the war crimes trials of the camp commander. Robert May joined the Bogalusa Police Department and shortly after this picture was killed responding to a domestic dispute.