| On January 30, 1945, members of the U.S.
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| | village, where they were greeted with joy
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| Military special forces and Filipino
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| | by the Filipinos.
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| guerrilla warriors pulled off the most
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| | The next day, all was ready for the
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| stunning and successful prison camp bust
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| | attack. The soldiers waited until
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| in recorded history. These brave soldiers
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| | evening, at which time they crept up to
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| rescued over 500 POWs and dealt a heavy
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| | right outside the walls of the prison
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| blow to the Japanese army left in the
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| | compound. At 1945, or 7:45 PM, the
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| Philippines. If that weren't enough, they
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| | Rangers and Alamo scouts opened up on the
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| did it with only two casualties!
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| | camp with all of the small arms they had
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| The soldiers involved in the Cabanatuan
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| | - rifles, carbines, hand grenades,
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| operation came from several separate
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| | Thompson sub-machine guns, and Browning
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| locations and groups.
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| | Automatic Rifles. A few seconds later,
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| The first group was the Alamo Scouts.
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| | they charged into the camp and a bazooka
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| This was a group of highly trained,
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| | gunner destroyed the tanks and trucks in
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| highly capable special forces, who were
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| | the camp.
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| expert at reconnaissance and scouting
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| | In less than a minute, the Japanese
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| work. At this point in the war, the Alamo
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| | resistance was effectively destroyed. The
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| Scouts had an impressive record of tough
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| | only serious casualties were one man dead
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| assignments that they had successfully
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| | and another mortally wounded. The Rangers
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| accomplished - and they had never lost a
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| | now began to evacuate the POWS, who were
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| man. There were 13 Alamo Scouts involved
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| | generally confused and surprised by their
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| in the operation.
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| | sudden turn of events.
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| The second group of soldiers involved in
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| | While the Rangers and Alamo Scouts were
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| the Cabanatuan raid were U.S. Army
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| | thus engaged, the Filipino guerrillas
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| Rangers. The Rangers were a newly created
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| | were far from idle. They had set up a
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| group of special forces, created by Gen.
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| | road block at the bridge just a little
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| Walter Krueger for behind lines
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| | ways up the main road from the camp. As
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| operations, hit and run operations, and
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| | soon as the Rangers attacked the camp,
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| pretty much any operation that required a
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| | the guerrillas blew up the bridge over
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| larger force of special ops soldiers. The
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| | the river and began firing on the
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| Rangers were the bulk of the U.S. forces.
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| | battalion of Japanese soldiers on the
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| The third group of soldiers that
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| | other side of the river. The guerrillas
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| participated in the raid were Filipino
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| | attack was highly effective - they had
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| guerrillas, mainly under the command of
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| | setup their machine guns, soldiers, and
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| Juan Capt. Pajota. The Filipino
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| | bazookas to give them a powerful
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| guerrillas had been fighting a highly
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| | interlocking field of fire over the
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| effective under cover war against the
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| | river. Wave after wave of Japanese
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| Japanese for years, but now they came out
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| | soldiers charged, only to be mowed down
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| from cover to help the invading Americans
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| | by the guns of the Filipinos. When was
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| retake the islands. Hundreds of these
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| | all said and done, the guerrillas had
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| guerrillas participated in this
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| | killed or wounded somewhere between 500
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| operation.
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| | and 1,000 Japanese soldiers, without
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| The Alamo Scouts went in first, and spent
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| | losing a single man themselves!
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| hours and hours night and day scouting
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| | After they finished destroying the
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| out the area. When the Rangers and
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| | Japanese unit, the guerrillas fell back
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| guerrillas arrived, the news was not good
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| | and provided a cover for the retreating
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| - a large body of Japanese soldiers were
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| | group of Rangers, POWs, and Alamo Scouts.
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| traveling along the highway right next to
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| | The entire company reached the advancing
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| the POW camp. Col. Mucci, the brilliant
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| | 6th Army without mishap, ending what
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| commander of the Rangers, postponed the
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| | remains to this day the most successful
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| raid until the following day. The
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| | prison camp break in history.
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| soldiers retreated into the local
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