514 POWs, one ticking clock, and a suicide mission no one talks about.
This is the story of a group of 514 prisoners of war from the Bataan Death March and how they were rescued near the end of the war. The reason this was so important is that the Japanese high command was ordering the execution of all prisoners when it appeared that the camps were soon to be liberated. So, in the case of this camp, it meant a covert operation well behind enemy lines in order to get to the guys before it was too late. The episode consists of many, many interviews--including several living POWs, a Philippino partisan, members of the assault team, their second in command and some historians.
Acting
Real POWs speaking—no performance touches this.
Direction
Jones lets survivors own the story, no melodrama needed.
Editing
Tight 60 minutes that earns every gut punch.
Director
Peter Jones
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The actual Rangers refused payment for interviews, saying the story belonged to the dead.
This was one of the first docs to feature Filipino partisan perspectives, correcting decades of American-centric WWII narratives.
US
