January 30, 1945: The Raid at Cabanatuan

January 30, 1945: An assault by 121 American soldiers and 800 Filipino guerrillas frees 813 American prisoners of war from the Japanese-held camp in the city of Cabanatuan in the Philippines.

Some of the heaviest fighting in World War II, anywhere in the world, was in the Philippines, a nation of 7,641 islands over 120,000 square miles. The Japanese assault that ended its American-backed sort-of independence, and the flight of its American military commander, Douglas MacArthur, was America's version of Britain's Dunkirk in France: A spectacular humiliation that somehow got turned into a heroic retreat.

MacArthur's radio-broadcast promise to the nation that he would return, and his carrying out of that return was equally epic, but it was only achieved through miserable battles on coasts and in cities. The fight to liberate the capital of Manila would kill over 100,000 civilians.

Before the fight to retake Manila could be launched, MacArthur wanted to liberate whoever might have survived the Bataan Death March, nearly 3 years earlier. Many were sent to the Cabanatuan prison camp. The Japanese shifted most of the prisoners to other areas, leaving just over 500 American and other Allied POWs and civilians in the prison. Facing brutal conditions including disease, torture, and malnourishment, the prisoners feared they would be executed by their captors before the arrival MacArthur's forces.

A plan was developed by Sixth Army leaders and Filipino guerrillas to send a small force to rescue the prisoners. A group of over 100 Rangers and Scouts and 200 guerrillas traveled 30 miles behind Japanese lines to reach the camp.

In a nighttime raid, under the cover of darkness  and with distraction by a P-61 Black Widow night fighter, the group surprised the Japanese forces in and around the camp. Hundreds of Japanese troops were killed in the 30-minute coordinated attack. In contrast, the Americans suffered minimal casualties: 2 killed, 4 wounded, and 2 prisoners died.

The Rangers, Scouts, and guerrillas escorted the POWs back to American lines. The rescue allowed the prisoners to tell of the death march and prison camp atrocities, which sparked a rush of resolve for the war against Japan. The rescuers were awarded commendations by MacArthur, and were also recognized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

It was FDR's 63rd birthday. It was to be his last.

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January 30, 1945 was a Tuesday. Native American author and activist Michael Dorris was born on this day. This was also the day of the sinking of the Nazi ship Wilhelm Gustloff. I have a separate entry for that event.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt celebrated his birthday. Adolf Hitler gave a public speech. Nobody knew it at the time, but, in each case, it was for the last time.

Baseball and football were out of season, The NBA hadn't been founded yet. There was 1 game in the NHL: The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Boston Bruins, 5-3 at the Boston Garden.