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Henry A. Mucci ( 1909 — April 20 , 1997 ) was an Army Colonel and Ranger . He was famous for leading the raid that rescued survivors of the Bataan Death March during World War II . With only 120 Army Rangers, Mucci headed the January 1945 mission that freed 511 men from Cabanatuan Prison Camp despite being heavily outnumbered. =Early Years= Mucci was born in 1909 in Bridgeport,CT. His parents had both emigrated from Italy, and his father worked as a horse salesman in the Bridgeport area. Upon graduating from high school he applied to West Point but was rejected. He replied again the following year and recieved an appointment to West Point, from which he graduated in 1936, 246th in his class. 6TH RANGER BATTALION ''See main article, 6th Ranger Battalion In February 1943, the US Sixth Army put Henry Mucci in charge of the 98th Field Artillery Battalion, previously a mule-drawn pack artillery unit. Mucci announced that the Battalion was being converted from Field Artillery to Rangers, downsized the battallion from 1,000 men to 500, and held a training camp in New Guinea where he utilized Commando type training techniques for over a year. WORLD WAR II AND THE GREAT RAID Mucci survived the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. During the liberation of the Philippines General Walter Kreuger and one of his top men, Horton White, chose Mucci to head the liberation of the Cabuanatuan Prison Camp due to both the difficult and peculiar needs of such a mission. In January of 1945, Mucci led roughly 120 Army Rangers in liberating the Cabanatuan Prison Camp with the loss of only 2 men killed in action. HONORS For Mucci's actions on the raid he was personally awarded the Distinguished Service Cross by General Douglas MacArthur . The military promoted Mucci to full colonel. LIFE AFTER MILITARY SERVICE When Mucci returned home he was treated as a national hero in his home town of in 1997, as a result of a stroke. |
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