Thanks to the News Chieftain for their extensive coverage of local Veteran’s Day activities.
I want to honor the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the US Army 11th Airborne Division for their little-known heroic rescue of 2,147 civilian internees at the Los Banos prison camp near Manila.
Acting on intelligence reports that the Japanese were about to massacre the Los Banos prisoners before retreating from the advancing U.S. Army, Gen. MacArthur ordered their rescue. At 7 a.m. on Feb. 23, 1945, the rescue started with the 511th PIR jumping from the dangerously low altitude of 400 feet. Within 20 minutes, they had cleared the enemy from the camp and started evacuating the prisoners.
All internees were safely on American-controlled soil that afternoon. My father, one of the rescued internees, was returned to the U.S. and our family was reunited. I now have a brother, niece, nephew and three of his children as a direct result of the 511th PIR heroism.
I am certain there are uncountable similar stories of the effects of the heroism of our service . While we are rarely able to thank veterans personally, we can still honor their service with Veteran’s Day celebrations and by researching their service for our personal family histories.
References: Raid on Los Baños (Wikipedia); “Rescue at Los Baños: The Most Daring Prison Camp Raid of World War II” by Bruce Henderson (at the San Diego County Library); two good short videos on YouTube: “Raid on Los Baños” and “Los Banos Rescue at Dawn Short Version.”
John Murphy
Poway
