Raid at Cabanatuan - Trek To American Lines

Trek To American Lines

"I made the Death March from Bataan, so I can certainly make this one!"

—one of the POWs during the trek back to American lines

By 22:00, the Rangers and ex-POWs arrived at Plateros, where they rested for half an hour. A radio message was sent and received by Sixth Army at 23:00 that the mission had been a success, and that they were returning with the rescued prisoners to American lines. After a headcount, it was discovered that POW Edwin Rose, a deaf British soldier, was missing. Mucci dictated that none of the Rangers could be spared to search for him, so he sent several guerrillas to do so in the morning. It was later learned that Rose had fallen asleep in the latrine before the attack. Rose woke early the next morning, and realized the other prisoners were gone and that he was left behind. Nevertheless, he took the time to shave and put on his best clothes that he had been saving for the day he would be rescued. He walked out of the prison camp, thinking that he would soon be found and led to freedom. Sure enough, Rose was found by passing guerrillas. Arrangements were made for a tank destroyer unit to pick him up and transport him to a hospital.

In a makeshift hospital at Plateros, Scout Alfonso and Ranger Fisher were quickly put into surgery. The shrapnel was removed from Alfonso's abdomen, and he was expected to recover if returned to American lines. Fisher's shrapnel was also removed, but with limited supplies and widespread damage to both his stomach and intestines, it was decided more extensive surgery would need to be completed in an American hospital. Mucci ordered that an airstrip be built in a field next to Plateros so that a plane could airlift him to American lines. Some Scouts and freed prisoners stayed behind to construct the airstrip.

As the group left Plateros at 22:30 to trek back towards American lines, Pajota and his guerrillas continually sought out local villagers to provide additional carabao carts to transport the weakened prisoners. The majority of the prisoners had little or no clothing and shoes, and it became increasingly difficult for them to walk. When the group reached Balincarin, they had accumulated nearly 50 carts. Despite the convenience of using the carts, the carabao traveled at a sluggish pace, only 2 miles per hour (3.2 km/h), which greatly reduced the speed of the return trip. By the time the group reached American lines, 106 carts were being used.

In addition to the tired former prisoners and civilians, the majority of the Rangers had only slept for five to six hours over the past three days. The soldiers frequently had hallucinations or fell asleep as they marched. Benzedrine was distributed by the medics to keep the Rangers active during the long march. One Ranger commented on the effect of the drug: "It felt like your eyes were popped open. You couldn't have closed them if you wanted to. One pill was all I ever took—it was all I ever needed."

P-61 Black Widows again helped the group by patrolling the path they took on its way back to American lines. At 21:00, one of the aircraft destroyed five Japanese trucks and a tank located on a road 14 miles (23 km) from Plateros that the group would later travel on. The group was also met by hovering P-51 Mustangs that guarded them as they neared American lines. The freed prisoner George Steiner stated that they were "jubilant over the appearance of our airplanes, and the sound of their strafing was music to our ears".

During one leg of the return trip, the men were stopped by the Hukbalahap, Filipino Communist guerrillas who hated both the Americans and the Japanese. They were also rivals to Pajota's men. One of Pajota's lieutenants conferred with the Hukbalahap and returned to tell Mucci that they were not allowed to pass through the village. Angered by the message, Mucci sent the lieutenant back to insist that pursuing Japanese forces would be coming. The lieutenant came back and told Mucci that only Americans could pass, and Pajota's men had to stay. Both the Rangers and guerrillas were finally allowed through after an agitated Mucci told the lieutenant that he would call in an artillery barrage and level the whole village. In fact, Mucci's radio was not working at that point.

At 08:00 on January 31, Mucci's radioman was able to finally contact Sixth Army headquarters. Mucci was directed to go to Talavera, a town captured by the Sixth Army 11 miles (18 km) from Mucci's current position. At Talavera, the freed soldiers and civilians boarded trucks and ambulances for the last leg of their journey home. The POWs were deloused, and given hot showers and new clothes. At the POW hospital, one of the Rangers was reunited with his rescued father, who had been assumed killed in combat three years earlier. The Scouts and the remaining POWs who had stayed behind to get James Fisher onto a plane also encountered resistance by the Hukbalahap. After threatening the communist band, the Scouts and POWs were granted safe passage and reached Talavera on February 1.

A few days after the raid, Sixth Army troops inspected the camp. They collected a large number of death certificates and cemetery layouts, as well as diaries, poems, and sketchbooks. The American soldiers also paid 5 pesos to each of the carabao cart drivers who had helped to evacuate the POWs.