News-Info-Alerts

To: ALL

From: Andi Wolos & Bob Necci

(POW-MIA InterNetwork)

Re: WW II Ex-POWs Honor Liberators

Date: August 13, 2000

From AP -

"WWII Prisoners Honor Army Units
The Associated Press

FORT BENNING, Ga. (AP) - Former World War II prisoners of war honored their liberators with a memorial dedication Friday, 55 years after Army units freed 512 men from a prison camp in the Philippines.

The Americans were rescued Jan. 30, 1945, by members of the 6th Ranger Battalion and the 6th Army Alamo Scouts. The Alamo Scouts were a long-range surveillance unit that operated behind enemy lines from 1943 to 1945.

At a ceremony at the Rangers training headquarters at Fort Benning, Ga., the POWs dedicated a bronze plaque with the names of 143 men who participated in the operation, assisted by 284 Filipino guerrillas.

The plaque will be installed on a granite memorial outside the Ranger Hall of Fame.

``I'm satisfied, and I'll go to sleep tonight knowing that I've finally honored these men,'' said John Cook, 79, a retired Army medic from San Bruno, Calif., who spent 34 months as a prisoner.

The surprise assault killed 500 Japanese and two Rangers. None of the prisoners was injured during the rescue and 30-mile trek to US lines.

The liberation -- which took less than 30 minutes -- is still recognized as an example of a virtually flawless special operation, according to Fort Benning officials. One of the mission leaders, Capt. Robert Prince, was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame in 1999."