Trent Franks: “When the Philippines fell in April of 1942, more than 75,000 American and Filipino servicemen and countless civilians…”

“When the Philippines fell in April of 1942, more than 75,000 American and Filipino servicemen and countless civilians became prisoners of war. This number was decimated during the brutal Bataan Death March, which saw the death of over 16,000 POWs. Many soldiers survived the march, only to find themselves facing murderous treatment in prisoner-of-war camps scattered throughout the island. When General MacArthur began his campaign to retake the Philippines in 1945, he made it a priority to liberate soldiers and civilians who were interned in these camps. This commitment was particularly important, since it was widely believed that captives would be killed by their retreating captors if measures were not undertaken to liberate them in advance of the main campaign. General MacArthur's commitment to the civilian internees and prisoners of war on the island manifested itself in a particularly heroic way in the Allied raid on the prison camp at Los Banos.”