Service/branch United States Army Rank Major Name Robert Prince Education Stanford University | Years of service 1941-1946 Battles/wars World War II Role Captain Battles and wars World War II | |
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Allegiance United States of America Died January 1, 2009, Port Townsend, Washington, United States Spouse Barbara Harrison (m. 1942) Awards Distinguished Service Cross Similar People Henry Mucci, Juan Pajota, James Franco, William Breuer, John Dahl | ||
Robert Prince (1920 – January 1, 2009) was an officer in the United States Army's elite 6th Ranger Battalion. In 1945 he was chosen personally by Lt. Col. Henry A. Mucci to plan the rescue at the Cabanatuan POW camp in the Philippines.
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Personal life
Prince was born in Seattle, Washington and grew up in Madrona, Seattle. He graduated from Garfield High School and Stanford University, studying history and economics. He was initiated in Sigma Chi fraternity at Stanford. Prince joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and was commissioned as a Second lieutenant in 1941. On January 31, 1942, he married Barbara Harrison at Seattle's Episcopal Church of the Epiphany. Only a few months afterwards, Prince was sent to New Guinea to fight in the war against the Japanese army. The fighting in New Guinea ended a week before his group arrived. Shortly afterwards, the US Army created the 6th Ranger Battalion with Lt. Colonel Mucci commanding. In January 1945, news spread of the "Kill-All" policy of the Japanese. Mucci was quickly ordered to form a team to rescue prisoners at the Cabanatuan camp. After the successful raid in 1945, Prince left the Army as a Major the day before Thanksgiving 1946.
Raid at Cabanatuan
Prince was mainly involved with the planning of the raid. He had to hastily create a plan using a low level of intelligence of the area. Prince built his plan around his two best weapons; surprise and confusion. One of his primary concerns was the flatness of the countryside. He knew his Rangers would have to crawl through a long, open field on their bellies, right under the eyes of the Japanese guards. At the suggestion of Juan Pajota, a Filipino guerrilla, Lt. Col. Mucci arranged for the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) to have a P-61 Black Widow night fighter buzz the camp while the men made their way across the field. It proved to be the biggest factor in achieving the element of surprise.
The Raid at Cabanatuan was depicted in the 1945 film Back to Bataan and the 2005 film The Great Raid that featured actor James Franco playing Prince. Prince was personally responsible for the rescue of approximately 500+ 'Bataan Death March' survivors through his rescue plan and direct actions. The principles of this plan are still taught today at the United States Military Academy, the greatest successful rescue to date.
Later years
Prince reunited with his wife and raised two sons. He settled in Wenatchee and ran an apple business.
Honors
Prince received the nation's second-highest award for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross for his involvement in the raid. In the late 90's, he was added to the Army Ranger Hall of Fame.