The Great Raid
1
Man:
In 1941.The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
Ten hours later. Across the Pacific.
They attacked the Philippines.
Clearing the way for
an overwhelming invasion of the islands.
Radio announcer:
Japan has undertakena surprise offense...
Man:
US forces.Including 10.000 Americans
and 60.000 Filipinos.
Pull back to the Bataan Peninsula.
Without a navy to rescue them
and with their backs to the sea.
They're trapped.
Despite promises to the contrary.
President Roosevelt
and his military high command
decide to focus first on Europe.
And on stopping Hitler.
This strategy effectively
seals the fate of the Philippines
and the men trapped on Bataan.
Under orders and against his wishes.
General MacArthur escapes to Australia.
Vowing to return.
After four months
Starving American and Filipino troops
surrender to the Japanese Imperial Army.
It is the largest single defeat
in the history of the American military.
(Japanese)
(Cheering)
Unequipped to house or feed
70.000 prisoners of war.
The Japanese take the weakened soldiers
on a brutal 60-mile forced march.
Men who fall out of line
are bayoneted or shot.
15.000 perish on what would become
known as the Bataan Death March.
The surviving POWs
at O'Donnell.
Cabanatuan and Palawan.
The Japanese guards.
Who view surrender as a disgrace.
Treat them viciously.
Thousands die from disease.
Starvation and abuse.
By 1944. however.
The tide of battle changes.
With each new victory.
American forces advance on Japan.
And with each new defeat. The
Japanese army becomes more desperate.
Fueled by propaganda. They believe
that the Americans will show no mercy.
The government in Tokyo
encourages these fears.
Convincing its people they must prepare
to defend their country to the death.
On August 1. 1944.
The Tokyo war ministry
releases a memo
dictating the Japanese army's policy
toward prisoners of war.
It reads:
"It is the aim not to allow the escape
of a single one.
"To annihilate them all.
And not leave any traces. "
(Shouts orders in Japanese)
Go! Go, go!
(Screaming)
(Screaming)
Man:
The landing at Lingayen Gulfwas the largest naval operation
ever undertaken in the Pacific.
came ashore.
Ready for the final push
into the Philippines.
I was a Stanford graduate who'd
entered the service through the R. O. T. C.
I wasn't interested
I just wanted to do my part
and go home to my wife.
I was a captain
with the 6th Ranger battalion.
My commanding officer
was Lieutenant Colonel Henry Mucci.
(Swing music)
- You in this hand, Lieutenant?
Well, if you're thinking about it,
you already lost.
- Want me to give you a better look?
- No, Colonel, I don't want you...
A West Point graduate. Mucci was
one of the most driven men I'd ever met.
He took on what seemed to many
like a hopeless task -
the job of turning a group of raw.
Untested recruits
into a new unit of elite soldiers.
Originally assigned to handle livestock.
They were mostly farm hands
from small towns in rural areas
with little or no combat experience.
First Sergeant, overlays are ready.
Have you seen Colonel Mucci?
Yes, sir.
He's in the Waldorf, playing poker.
Wouldn't interrupt him right now.
I think he's losing.
Ah, for cryin' out loud. Lieutenant Foley,
get me a new deck. This one's unlucky.
When you stick that pipe in your mouth,
I know you're in trouble.
Just you wait,
you smug son of a b*tch.
Colonel, overlays.
Any idea who that is?
- No, sir.
- (Mucci) Corporal of the guard.
- Yes, sir.
- Aliteri, find out who the cowboy is.
Sir.
and had seen very little action.
As far as the army was concerned.
We were nothing more
than the colonel's personal experiment.
Mucci was determined
to prove them wrong.
- General.
- Henry.
You know Colonel White,
and this is Major Lapham.
Major, this is Lieutenant Colonel
Henry Mucci, CO, 6th Ranger battalion.
Major Lapham is a stay-behind
from the Bataan campaign.
in north-central Luzon.
Philippine guerrillas have been the primary
source of intel for MacArthur since the fall.
- It's an honor, Major.
- Thank you.
Major Lapham,
tell Colonel Mucci what you told us.
Five miles east
of Cabanatuan City here,
there's a Japanese POW camp holding
about 500 survivors of the death march.
As we advance on this area,
I believe the Japanese will murder
the prisoners rather than release them.
Major Lapham is probably right. There
was an incident in a camp on Palawan.
150 American POWs were herded
into air-raid shelters and burnt alive
on the news that MacArthur had invaded.
Our axis of advance
is headed right for that camp.
Unless we run into
something unexpected,
we're gonna be in Cabanatuan at the
end of the week, and that may be too late.
Horton, what's G2 got to say about this?
Because of our advances, Jap movements
have become increasingly fluid -
retreating at night, hiding during the day
to avoid our aircraft.
What that means is we can't be sure
where the enemy is.
They're only 30 miles
from our front lines.
There's over 30,000 Japanese troops
in that area alone, Colonel.
Henry, you develop a plan
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"The Great Raid" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 May 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/the_great_raid_20364>.
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