Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission

Once Murphy’s Company F attacked from the rear, Prince’s Company C “opened fire with a barrage that was so immense it was plainly overkill” (346). All of the Japanese watch towers and pillboxes “had been neutralized, or obliterated altogether” in less than a minute (346). Company C’s Teddy Richardson shot open the padlock on the main gate, and the Rangers were inside. The first prisoners they encountered were confused as the Rangers yelled directions at them to head to the main gate. Staff Sergeant Manton Stewart used a bazooka to destroy the flimsy buildings that housed military machinery. Opening the gates to the American part of the camp, Ranger Lester Malone announced his presence, “We’re Yanks!” and instructed the prisoners to head to the main gate (350).

The American prisoners resembled “scared vermin scattering for cover after you switch on the kitchen lights” (350). Some were confused. Others thought it was a trick. Others yet prayed. Certain prisoners even seemed ungrateful. Prisoners like Bert Bank experienced symptoms of blindness and required help to move about. Bob Body’s escape plan was foiled once again, “trumped by a full-scale rescue” (353). To the prisoners, “the Rangers looked exceedingly strange”—from their unrecognizable uniforms to firearms (351).