More on Los Banos

Gen. Douglas MacArthur wrote in Reminiscences, "I was deeply concerned about the thousands of prisoners who had been interned at the various camps on Luzon since the early days of the war. ...I had been receiving reports from my various underground sources long before the actual landings on Luzon, but the latest information was most alarming. With every step that our soldiers took toward Santo Tomas University, Bilibid, Cabanatuan and Los Banos, where these prisoners were held, the Japanese soldiers guarding them had become more and more sadistic. I knew that many of these half-starved and ill-treated people would die unless we rescued them promptly." The nurses and other prisoners at Santo Thomas were liberated on Feb. 3rd. The 2,147 prisoners, including the 11 Navy nurses, at Los Banos were freed on Feb. 23, 1945.

  Click here to return to the Home Page