Robert Prince

Robert Prince (Wikipedia)

World War II was both a time of loss, and a time of victory for the United States. The U.S. Army spent years at war fighting the Japanese. Many small victories were won, and many were lost, but the motto "No man left behind" remained in everyone's head no matter what the circumstances.

Many soldiers were held captive in WWII and many of them were killed by their captors. These brave soldiers will remain in our hearts forever. What some people don't realize and remember are the ones that were saved and the people who saved them. Robert Prince was one of the many great people to have rescued his fellow soldiers.

The year is 1945 in Cabanatuan, The Philippines. 514 American Rangers had been captured and taken to a POW camp. Lieutenant Colonel Henry Mucci had been put in charge of organizing a raid to save the Rangers. Out of all the soldiers in The 6th Ranger Battalion, Mucci personally picked Captain Robert Prince. Together, and with the help of over 1,000 other people, which included two Filipino guerrilla groups, the U.S. Army Rangers, the Alamo Scouts, local Filipino villagers, the Air Force, and, of course, the POWs themselves, conducted "one of the most dramatic exploits of the war in the Pacific." The hardest part was organizing a group of people who were complete strangers to each other.

The plan was to send a P-61 Black Widow night fighter over the POW camp at night to distract the Japanese soldiers. The Americans then crawled on their bellies across the ever-so-flat terrain. These two elements led to the American being able to surround the POW camp and surprise the Japanese. Prince sent two groups of guerrilla fighters, one group under the command of Captain Juan Pajota, and one under the command of Captain Eduardo Joson, in opposite directions. The two groups held the main road that passed by the front of the camp. He split the Rangers into two groups, one for the front gate and one to come through the rear. He himself would personally ensure that all of the barracks were clear and all the prisoners accounted for. It would be called The Great Raid, or The Raid at Cabanatuan.

'The Raid' was a success. An estimated 523 Japanese were killed, and 512 POWs were saved. Only 2 POW Rangers died. And there were no Filipino casualties. Prince left the army in 1946, after being promoted from a Captain to a Major. On March 3, 1945, General Walter Krueger presented the men with awards: Mucci and Prince both received the Distinguished Service Cross, the other American officers received the Silver Star, and the American enlisted men received the Bronze Star. All the Filipino officers and enlisted men received the Bronze Star.

To honor this hero, one could watch the movie, "The Great Raid". It is a stunning film of these events, following Captain Prince.