← Against The Odds
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- [00:00]
Audible Announcer
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- [00:09]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
A listener note. Against the Odds uses dramatizations that are based on true events. Some elements, including dialogue, may be invented, but everything is based on research. Chief Nurse Laura Cobb grabs a sheet from a cabinet and frowns at the maroon blotch in the middle. A blood stain from a former patient. But there's nothing she can do. The Los Banos prison camp has no more soap. She fits it around the edges of an old mattress in the camp infirmary. It's early February 1945. Cobb and her crew of Navy nurses have been captives for three years now, held at three separate Japanese prisoner of war camps, but none as awful as Los Banos. Located in a remote part of the Philippines, they're fed just a single handful of plain rice per day. Every person here is slowly starving to death. Cobb herself suffers from erratic heartbeats and aching joints. A few strands of her hair fall onto the bed. She brushes them off and sighs. Malnutrition has turned her hair gray and brittle. As she's tucking in the last bit of sheet, a packet of folded papers comes loose from beneath the thin mattress. Cobb bends over to grab them, wincing in pain as her knees creak. She unfolds the papers and realizes they're pages torn from magazines. They must be remnants from when Los Banos was a college. And every last page shows a picture of food. Roast beef dripping with fat. Mashed potatoes slathered with butter. Succulent eggs. Fresh apple pie with mounds of ice cream. She's heard that other prisoners pass these images around like dirty pictures. As Cobb takes in the images, she feels light headed. Her stomach seizes as if she's swallowed needles, and yet she can barely tear her eyes away. She stares at them until the hunger feels all consuming. Then she crumples the papers and hurries outside. She runs behind the infirmary, where there's a long trench for garbage. Cobb flings the pages into it to banish the temptation. Thankfully, a distraction arrives a moment later. A low buzzing. It's a plane. Overhead. Cobb hustles over to a clearing where she finds Nurse Basilia Torres. Steward. Steward points up. Is it American? Cobb squints into the late morning sun. Yes. The silhouette looks familiar. Cobb feels a surge of joy. They've seen American planes before, but the sight is becoming more common. To Cobb, it means they're getting closer to the day when they'll finally be liberated. She looks back down to share her excitement with Steward but her colleague looks concerned. She points back toward the camp. 100 yards away, Cobb sees a group of Japanese guards. They're barking orders at two dozen Filipino laborers holding shovels. They're digging a new trench, and quite a big one. It must be 100ft long. Steward turns to Cobb. Are they digging another garbage trench? Cobb says no. She was just at the other trench, and it's only half full. This trench must be for another purpose. In a flash, it hits her with such force, she feels weak in her knees. This trench isn't for trash. It's for prisoners. The Japanese are digging a mass grave.
- [04:14]
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- [05:19]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
From Audible Originals. I'm Cassie Depechel, and this is against the odds. In early 1945, Allied forces invaded the Philippine island Luzon, home of Manila and Los Banos Prison Camp. As Allied soldiers captured more ground, the Japanese guards at Los Banos grew desperate. They'd been abusing and starving POWs for years, and if the Allies won and the prisoners testified against their captors, their war crimes would be exposed. So camp leaders at Los Banos decided to exterminate all the prisoners. Allied troops had a plan to liberate the camp, but it was complex, with many moving pieces. All the prisoners could do was wait and hope that rescuers would arrive before the execution date. This is episode five, A Risky Plan. Navy nurse Dorothy still clips a clothespin to the umbilical cord of a newborn baby, then reaches for the infirmary's rusty scissors to snip it. She's so weak that it takes two attempts to cut through the cord. When that's done, Dorothy fills in the date and place of birth on the Newborn's birth certificate. February 20, 1945, at the Los Banos infirmary. Her hand shakes as she writes. This poor baby, born in this horrible place. Dorothy hadn't thought life in the camp could get worse. But then rumors started spreading that the new trench the guards had dug was for a mass grave. A new sense of desperation and hopelessness settled over the prison. As Dorothy looks at the newborn, squirming and screaming in her mother's arms, she tries to shake the thoughts of her impending death from her mind. The poor mother looks so sick and weak that even this tiny baby seems too heavy for her. So, despite the mother's protest, Dorothy picks up the infant. No, no, save your strength. You still need to push the afterbirth out. I'll wash your girl up, Then you can rest with her. Dorothy totters to a wash basin made from salvaged tin roofing. It's only a few steps, but it's painful on the hard tile floor. After more than three years of captivity, Dorothy's thin shoes have almost no sole left, and her body is so starved for calories that even the fat on the bottom of her feet is gone. They ache from the pressure of every step. Dorothy lowers the bawling child into the basin full of rainwater. She worries about how scrawny the child looks. You're off to a tough start in life, aren't you, peanut? Her starving mother probably can't produce breast milk. The infirmary has some condensed milk stashed away, but another baby was born last week, and there's barely any left. As she washes the child, Dorothy hears a plane overhead. She whispers the same prayer she always does. Hurry up, please. But it feels empty now. They now have two newborns to keep alive and dozens of patients on death's door. And even if they all pull through, the Japanese might murder everyone. Anyway, nursing is never easy. So much is out of your control. But the constant specter of death here in the prison camp is becoming more than Dorothy can take. Lt. Col. Henry Muller strikes a match in the dark and lights his cigarette. After a few puffs, the tension in his shoulders relaxes. It's been a harrowing day. He lifts his eyes and gazes northwest in the direction of Lausanne, where the raid he's been planning for so long has officially begun. It's 11pm on February 22nd at the American Military headquarters on Leyte, an island southeast of Luzon. Mueller originally planned to launch the raid a few days from now. But this morning he got word from intelligence sources that made his heart stop. The Japanese had an imminent plan to kill all prisoners at Los Banos. That sent Mueller scrambling to get all the pieces of the raid in place. And there are a lot of them. First, a diversionary attack on a bridge several miles away will tie up 8,000 Japanese troops in the area. Second, a scout team led by Terry Santos will lead the first strike on Los Banos, landing at a beach 10 miles away. Third, paratroopers will jump in to secure the camp. Finally, amphibious vehicles will land at another beach to two miles away to evacuate prisoners and troops. After getting the intelligence report, Mueller dispatched Santos scout team. The 10 man crew set out a few hours ago. Mueller wonders how they're faring. If they're on schedule, they should be almost across the big lake near the camp. Then they have a dangerous 10 mile trek through the jungle. The other prongs of Mueller's plan begin tomorrow morning. The paratroopers and amphibious vehicles. He's been obsessing over this plan for months, but now all he can do is wait. As he lights a second cigarette, he hears a voice.
- [11:03]
American Soldier / Lt. Col. Henry Muller / Terry Santos
Colonel. Colonel.
- [11:06]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
He squints into the dark and sees his lieutenant rushing up, waving a piece of paper. He practically skids to a halt in front of Mueller. A new report just came in. Mueller snatches the paper and accepts a small flashlight from the lieutenant. He reads the memo. It's about Los Banos. A reconnaissance plane has spotted dozens of pairs of headlights streaming south toward Los Banos. The recon team said they looked like troop transport trucks. Mueller finishes reading and his eyes snap up to his lieutenant.
- [11:40]
American Soldier / Lt. Col. Henry Muller / Terry Santos
Can we confirm the trucks are headed to Los Banos?
- [11:43]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
No, we can't confirm anything. Mueller rereads the memo. His plan relies on there being only 200 guards at the camp. If hundreds more soldiers are pouring in, that means the Japanese are fortifying the camp. Or even worse, they're on their way to execute the prisoners even earlier than expected. The lieutenant asks what their options are. Should they call things off? Mueller sighs. Terry Santos team has already set out and they don't have a radio.
- [12:15]
American Soldier / Lt. Col. Henry Muller / Terry Santos
We could call off the diversionary force, the planes with the paratroopers and the amphibious vehicles.
- [12:21]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
They don't leave until 5am but if
- [12:23]
American Soldier / Lt. Col. Henry Muller / Terry Santos
we do that, Santos and his men will get slaughtered.
- [12:26]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
But let's say we don't call off the planes and vehicles. Won't all those soldiers die if there are suddenly far more Japanese troops there? Possibly.
- [12:36]
American Soldier / Lt. Col. Henry Muller / Terry Santos
But then the prisoners at Los Banos have no chance.
- [12:40]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
Mueller swears this is a terrible bind. His plan was already a risky one. It didn't need this monkey wrench. He has to find out more information and then make a decision whether he's continuing with the plan or abandoning Terry Santos, his team and the prisoners of Los Banos. Scout leader Terry Santos shields his eyes as the searchlight of a Japanese patrol boat pops on. He whispers to the four other American soldiers lying hidden on the bottom of their sailboat. Stay low guys, but be ready. A moment later, the patrol boat's engines rev and it chugs towards Santos boat. Discreetly, Santos reaches down for the rifle at his feet and clicks the safety off. It's 11:45pm on February 22, a little over seven hours until the raid on Los Banos is supposed to start. Santos team is way behind schedule. First they got separated from the two other sailboats carrying the rest of his team and spent time searching for them. Then the strong breeze that was supposed to propel the sailboats quickly across the lake died. They're crossing at a crawl and now a Japanese patrol boat has them in its sights. Santos scans the interior of his boat as the Japanese draw closer. Everything looks like they intended just a fishing boat crossing the lake. Santos himself is ethnically Filipino and he's dressed like a local in an unbuttoned cotton shirt and straw hat. He's hoping he can talk his way out of this, but if the Japanese get within 20 yards, he's going to open fire. The patrol boat stops 30 yards away, its motor idling with a low growl. Between the inky night and the klieg light shining in his face, Santos can't make out much, but it doesn't look too large. There can't be more than 10 soldiers aboard. That gives his men a fighting chance if a gunfight breaks out. Santos hears a voice call out, identify yourself.
- [14:57]
American Soldier / Lt. Col. Henry Muller / Terry Santos
What's your business?
- [14:59]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
Santos recites his cover story. His cousin needed help repairing his house after a recent storm. The work took longer than expected. He's returning home now because his wife is pregnant, but they're stranded due to the lack of wind. The Japanese ask several more questions, trying to poke holes in his story. In the quiet, Santos can hear the Japanese muttering to each other. The Americans in Santos boat are looking up at him wide eyed, but he doesn't acknowledge them. Finally the Japanese snap off the patrol light and yell at him to Hurry home. Then it chugs off. Santos exhales hard as his fellow soldiers peek their heads out. But their situation is still dire. They're hours behind schedule, a bad position for a strike that relies on precise timing. They're supposed to meet local guerrillas on the shore and proceed 10 miles inland to Los Banos. Then they have to take out the camp guards before the paratroopers drop in, or else the guards will shoot the troops out of the sky. Santos splashes his arm into the water and starts paddling, praying for the winds to pick up. Dorothy still stops to catch her breath as she crosses the infirmary at Los Banos. She's so weak that the small basin of water in her hands feels heavier than a bag of cement. It's an hour before dawn on February 23rd. Dorothy has two more hours until her night shift ends. Then she can sleep. She can't wait. She's exhausted, in fact, even standing here. She nods off on her feet, splashing water on the floor. She wakes with a start and looks around, fearful she woke the patients. Thankfully, most are still asleep. Just one man has his eyes open. Dorothy smiles at him and cracks a joke. I guess I should stop drinking whiskey during my shifts. The man chuckles softly. Dorothy feels better. Even in this ghastly place, she can still offer some comfort. She places the basin down and walks over to the cabinets to get some rags to mop up the floor. But as she passes the window, she notices something in the dim early morning light. Late yesterday, the Japanese guards assembled heavy machine guns, fortifying the camp's defenses. Dorothy's boyfriend, Thomas Terrell, was giddy. He said it must mean that American troops were close. Dorothy was cautiously optimistic, but what she sees now terrifies her. The machine gun barrels aren't turned outward in defense. They're turned inward, toward the camp. Even worse, she realizes that they're positioned right near the new trench that was dug a few weeks ago. Which can only mean one thing. The slaughter they've all feared is finally at hand. Army scout Terry Santos darts forward in the orange glow of the rising sun. He crouches as he dashes across a narrow berm of dirt separating two rice paddies. He hates being out in the open like this. He knows from Henry Muller's intelligence reports that there's a machine gun nest 100 yards ahead, and any Japanese troops on patrol could easily spread, spot him and raise an alarm or shoot him dead. Thankfully, it's just 50ft across the berm. He ducks into a stand of trees at the far end. Then he turns and waves for the other 15 members of his team to follow three fellow scouts and a dozen gorillas. He checks his watch. It's 6am on February 23, 1945, one hour before the start of the raid on Los Banos. The camp lies two miles away. While Santos waits for his team members to cross the berm, he goes over the last part of today's plan. Thankfully, the wind finally picked up last night and pushed their boat across the lake. Ashore, they met up with a group of local gorillas. The second and third boats with the rest of Santos team took hours longer to arrive. But they're all here now, approaching the camp from different directions. If everything is going according to plan, the two other parts of this operation are in motion. The paratroopers to aid the scouts and the amphibious vehicles to evacuate the prisoners. But it all starts with Santos and his men. Just then, Santos hears a splash. He whips his head around. The last gorilla has slipped on the muddy berm and tumbled into the rice paddy. The noise might as well be a cannon shot in the still morning. Santos swings his rifle up, ready to fire. But nothing happens. Santos can't understand it. Surely the troops in the machine gun nest heard with hand signals. He tells his men to stay put and creeps forward to investigate. The nest soon comes into view. It's a mound of dirt that looks completely natural from the front, except for a menacing slit for the machine gun's barrel to fire bullets through. Santos scans the ground ahead. He can't afford to snap a twig or crunch a dry leaf. Meanwhile, his ears remain cocked for any sound from the nest. Slowly, he circles around and peeks in the entrance. The sight startles him. There's a single Japanese guard inside, and he's fast asleep. Santos unsheathes the knife dangling from his belt. He'll slit the man's throat. Then he catches sight of something. There's a wire on the ground leading to a field telephone inside the nest. What if the guards at Los Banos call this soldier to check in? If he doesn't pick up, they'll know something is wrong. Santos and his team would lose the element of surprise. Santos spends several seconds agonizing over what to do. Then he sheathes his knife. He pads back out of the nest to grab his men, leaving the Japanese soldier to doze on. Nurse Mary Rose Harrington yawns and rubs her eyes as her shift finally comes to a close. It's 7am and between taking care of the fussy babies and two patients passing away, it's been a long 12 hours. Part of her wishes that she were numb to all the death. But it hasn't happened yet. Each passing still hurts, partly because it reminds her of her own impending death. Her last task involves hanging some old dirty bandages up to dry. Not that anything ever really gets dry in the humidity here. She grabs the basket and heads outside to the laundry line. Over on the athletic field, she sees the Japanese guards exercising in their underwear, grunting as they go through drills. As Harrington finishes up, she hears the drone of a plane and looks skyward. She's seen probably 100 planes over the past month and the excitement has long since worn off. But this time is different. Objects are falling from the belly of the plane. Harrington stiffens in fear. Are they being bombed? But no, it can't be that. The objects are falling too slowly for bombs. In fact, they're on parachutes. Maybe it's care packages of food. What a godsend that would be. The problem is, the objects are falling at least half a mile away. The sight deflates Harrington. How could the pilots be so off mark? It's too painful to think about. Harrington is about to turn away when she notices something missing. The supposed care packages seem to be moving. She squints up. And now she's sure of it. They're not packages. They're soldiers. What's going on? But she has no time to think. A second later, gunfire explodes behind her. Army scout Terry Santos takes a running leap and scrambles up the eight foot high barbed wire fence surrounding the Los Banos prison camp. He swings himself over and drops to the dirt on the other side. He's in. He hears machine gun fire. Other scouts are attacking the Japanese soldiers standing guard. Santos ducks between two classroom buildings, then drops to his knees and peeks around the corner. He spots two Japanese guards. He fires and watches as they collapse to the the ground. Then he runs toward the athletic field where the guards should be doing their daily exercises, per the intelligence briefing. More specifically, he needs to reach the shed where they keep their rifles. Santos can't afford to let the guards reach them first. But as he approaches the field, Santos sees another scout closing in on the shed himself. He's just yards away. Sprinting after him are 100 nearly naked Japanese soldiers. But in their bare feet they're losing ground. Before Santos can register just how bizarre this spectacle is, the scout yanks a grenade off his belt and pulls the pin. He then tosses it into a gap near the roof of the shed. A few seconds later, the shed explodes in a fireball. Santos Pumps his fist with excitement. Between this and the guards that his team is taking out, the armed resistance has been snuffed out. The Japanese guards that were chasing after the other scout now turn to flee. They're not getting far, though other scouts and guerrillas pick them off. Santos is thrilled. But a noise distracts him from a small bunker to his left. A few Japanese guards have opened fire with a light machine gun. Two fellow scouts, two tumble to the ground, one screaming. Santos takes off running toward the bunker. He ducks into a patch of tall grass just to the side of the bunker, keeping his head low. Through an opening in the concrete structure, he can make out two Japanese guards inside, chatting excitedly and pointing at targets. But they don't seem to have noticed Santos, and he doubts they can hear him over the gunfire. So he pulls a grenade from his belt and and hurries forward. 10 yards away. He pulls the pin, counts to three, and lobs the grenade underhand toward the opening. It's a perfect toss, hitting one guard in the head. Santos hurls himself to the ground and covers his ears. After the explosion, he peeks up. The bunker is a blackened pile of rubble. There's no way the guards survived that. Santos hurries forward to where the two American scouts fly fell. Thankfully, their injuries aren't fatal. One was merely grazed by a bullet. The other got hit in the shoulder, but the bullet passed through. Santos turns and runs the other direction. His main objective now is to evacuate all the prisoners before the 8,000 Japanese troops in the area converge on the camp. From his briefings last week, Santos knows where the barracks are. He barges into one. It takes a moment for his eyes to adjust the dark, but then he sees several dozen people huddled together, staring at him. Terrified, Santos beckons for them to come forward.
- [27:38]
American Soldier / Lt. Col. Henry Muller / Terry Santos
I'm a US Soldier. Come on, we've got to get out of here.
- [27:42]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
He expects them to cheer, then rush past him to the door. Instead, they just look at him vacantly. One rail thin man points to Santos's head. Why is your helmet shaped like that? I don't remember US troops wearing those. My helmet?
- [27:59]
American Soldier / Lt. Col. Henry Muller / Terry Santos
I don't know. They changed the design last year. Now let's go.
- [28:03]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
The prisoners still don't move. A woman calls out to him. How do we know you're not Japanese?
- [28:10]
American Soldier / Lt. Col. Henry Muller / Terry Santos
Listen to my accent. I'm as American as Abe Lincoln. And there are 8,000 Japanese soldiers nearby. If we don't move soon, they're gonna hunt you down. Now go.
- [28:21]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
This finally gets people moving. But instead of leaving everything behind, the prisoners start to pack they gather up filthy, ragged clothes and worn trinkets. Santos can't believe it. A few even try to take their soiled mattresses along. When he yanks them away, they howl in protest. No matter what he says, they won't hurry. Santos runs to the door to summon other scouts.
- [28:49]
American Soldier / Lt. Col. Henry Muller / Terry Santos
I need help in here. We've got to get these people moving.
- [28:52]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
He realizes that these prisoners are so traumatized that they're not thinking clearly. So far, the Japanese guards have proved little match for the American troops. But there are thousands of Japanese reinforcements headed their way, and every second counts. Dorothy still runs outside the infirmary to see three large vehicles pulling through the battered front gate of Los Banos. They look like boats mounted on tank treads with open tops. They rumble toward the infirmary. The past few minutes have been chaotic. When the bullets started flying, Dorothy assumed she was about to die. But then she heard cries in English. The Americans were finally here, and in just minutes they had either killed the Japanese guards or sent them scurrying into the jungle. Dorothy had almost collapsed with relief. The vehicles come to a stop, and a hatch swings open. In the lead one, a soldier jumps down.
- [30:02]
American Soldier / Lt. Col. Henry Muller / Terry Santos
Start loading your sickest patients. Anyone who can walk will be led to the beach by other troops. More Japanese troops can arrive any minute. We need to hurry.
- [30:12]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
Dorothy turns and runs back inside, where she nearly collides with Dr. Dana Nance. She explains the situation, and Nance nods. All triage.
- [30:22]
American Soldier / Lt. Col. Henry Muller / Terry Santos
The troops will have to carry them out.
- [30:24]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
We're too weak. Nance turns and moves down the beds, stopping to consider each man or woman for a few seconds.
- [30:32]
American Soldier / Lt. Col. Henry Muller / Terry Santos
Evacuate her. She can walk.
- [30:35]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
He'll need carry. When the American soldiers come inside, Dorothy directs them, explaining which men and women to grab. She's startled by how easily the troops lift them and how muscular the soldiers look. She's so used to seeing skeletal prisoners that an actually healthy body looks almost cartoonish. The next hour of moving patients passes in a blur. After loading two dozen of the worst patients, the amphibious vehicles still have room aboard, so Dorothy questions the soldiers. How long is the walk to the beach and how rough is the trail?
- [31:12]
American Soldier / Lt. Col. Henry Muller / Terry Santos
About two miles.
- [31:13]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
It's a decent trail, but full of holes. Dorothy nods and picks out more patients that can walk a little but might struggle over that distance. Finally, the vehicles are full, and they rumble off. Dorothy watches them go. Now she has to help everyone else walk to the beach, but there's one thing she wants to do first. Buried in her trunk by her bed is a dress, the one piece of civilian clothing she hasn't torn into bandages. She's been saving it to wear when they got liberated. She hurries off to grab it, but after a few steps, she stops. The barracks are on fire. The flames are already too large to even think about running inside. Tears run down her face. She knows it's silly, but the loss pains her. The dress she saved for years is gone, but she can't dwell on it. She has men and women to get to safety, including herself. She wipes away the tears and runs back to the infirmary. Dorothy still stumbles along a dirt trail in the jungle outside Los Banos. She clutches six tins of corned beef in her arms, which she took from the Japanese mess hall while leaving camp. She couldn't bear the thought of leaving behind food. Her boyfriend, Thomas Terrell, staggers alongside her. Dozens of other people are struggling, strung out ahead of and behind them, including the Allied troops who are guiding them with every step. Dorothy feels more exhausted, and they're barely halfway to the beach. She stumbles, and Thomas grabs her arm. I've got you, Dorothy. You can do this. A bit farther on, they pass a dead Japanese guard on the ground. Dorothy realizes an American soldier must have shot him while he fled. Thomas recognizes him. He once slipped me half a banana he didn't want. He seemed like a good soul. I wish this was that bastard Commandant Konishi instead of him. Dorothy agrees. But she notices an American soldier hovering over the dead guard. He looks worried. He calls out to a few of the Filipino gorillas.
- [33:37]
American Soldier / Lt. Col. Henry Muller / Terry Santos
If one of these guards got this far, there might be more nearby.
- [33:41]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
I want you to search the jungle around here. Dorothy watches the gorillas fan out. They're as silent as pumas and just as vigilant. With every noise. They snap their heads around, instantly on alert. A moment later, they vanish into the brush. Watching them go, Dorothy stumbles on a tree root and drops her tins of corned beef. They scatter and roll away. She and Thomas drop to their knees to gather them up. A soldier growls at them, leave them.
- [34:14]
American Soldier / Lt. Col. Henry Muller / Terry Santos
We don't have time.
- [34:16]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
Dorothy knows he's right, but she can't help herself. The thought of leaving food behind makes her panic. She rushes to pick them up as fast as she can. When she has them all, Thomas helps Dorothy to her feet. But standing up leaves her dizzy, and she feels even more exhausted than before. She simply doesn't know if she can make it all the way to the beach before the Japanese soldiers do. Chief nurse Laura Cobb lies face face down on the beach as bullets whistle past her. Some of them hit the ground near her, sending up a spray of sand. She presses her body down, willing herself to get lower. She glances down the beach, way closer than Ka would like. American soldiers are in a firefight with oncoming Japanese troops approaching from the jungle. She squeezes her eyes shut, willing it all to go away. After all those years in captivity, is she this close to freedom, only to die on a beach? It's close to 2pm on February 23, 1945. Cobb was one of the last prisoners to arrive at the beach. She lingered at the camp to help stragglers. By the time she arrived here, the last amphibious vehicle was pulled. A soldier explained to her that the transports would return in a few hours to get the last 600 prisoners. In the meantime, he said, they should all rest. Cobb actually managed to nap for a while under a coconut tree. But a few minutes ago, all hell broke loose.
- [36:13]
American Soldier / Lt. Col. Henry Muller / Terry Santos
It's coming from over here. I need cover.
- [36:16]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
The Americans seem to be holding the enemy at bay, but if Japanese reinforcements arrive, they could lose their advantage. Cobb puts her head back down. Then a prisoner near her shouts, look, they're back. Cobb swivels her head and peers toward the water. Sure enough, the amphibious vehicles are arriving on shore 100 yards the other way down the beach. A soldier leaps off one into the shallow water, then sprints over to Cobb's coat.
- [36:48]
American Soldier / Lt. Col. Henry Muller / Terry Santos
Make your way toward the vehicle. Hurry.
- [36:51]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
Cobb struggles to her feet. Several others are limping, barely able to walk from fatigue and malnutrition. She helps an older woman to her feet, but the woman tumbles and takes Cobb down with her. Together, they get up and stagger on. Cobb winces at the sound of every gunshot, terrified that a stray bullet will strike her in the back. It takes five agonizing minutes to reach the metal ramp leading up to the amphibious vehicle's deck. Cobb doesn't board herself. She just helps others up the ramp. Once a hundred people are on board, soldiers lift the ramp, and the vehicle slides into the water. Cobb watches it go and hurries over to another vehicle just hitting the beach. She starts helping people onto that one. Dorothy still and her boyfriend, Thomas Terrell soon join her. Behind Cobb, the firefight sounds more intense than ever. She glances back. She can see Japanese troops trickling out of the jungle. She worries that soon they'll overpower the Americans. At last, Cobb, Dorothy, and Thomas have loaded everyone, and they climb into the vehicle, too. The soldiers defending the beach hop to their feet and make a break for the vehicle themselves, scrambling on board. Seconds later, its engine roars as they pull out, Cobb finds herself on the top deck, exposed to the air. Given their weight, the vehicles are painfully slow. They can't be going more than 5 miles per hour. She sees more Japanese troops emerge from trees lining the beach. She yelps as bullets splash the water around them. A few even ping the metal sides. But over the next minute, fewer and fewer bullets reach them until all Cobb can hear is the engine. She takes a spot on a metal bench next to Dorothy, still, and throws herself down. She finds herself swaying side to side in the chop. Her eyelids get heavy and she nods off. But a moment later, a man's voice sounds in her ear. Are you two nurses? Cobb blinks awake. Yes. That man over there was grazed by a bullet. He needs your help. Cobb wants to tell the soldier to buzz off. She's worked non stop for three years. She just wants to sleep. But she gets to her feet and she and Dorothy wobble across the deck to help. Dorothy still lifts a bowl of bean soup to her lips and drains the last dregs. The soup looks quite plain. Plain, but it's utterly delicious. Probably the best thing she's ever eaten. Next to her on a wooden bench, her boyfriend Thomas has finished his bowl. He wipes a bit of soup off her chin and licks his finger. They both laugh. Then Dorothy rests her head on his shoulder. She can't believe they're finally free. It's 5pm on February 23, 10 hours after the raid on Los Banos. Dorothy, Thomas and many of the other 2,100 prisoners are sitting in the cafeteria of a prison turned refugee camp in Manila. She and Thomas laugh at the irony. For their first night of freedom, they'll be sleeping in jail cells. As they finish dinner, a soldier raises his voice and shouts for for everyone's attention.
- [40:40]
American Soldier / Lt. Col. Henry Muller / Terry Santos
We have several announcements to make. Everyone proceed to the courtyard.
- [40:45]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
Thomas helps Dorothy up and they join the throng of people shuffling outside. They're all emaciated and weak, but for the first time since Dorothy can remember, a gleam of hope is visible in people's eyes. Then the officer's voice crackles over a loudspeaker. Listen up.
- [41:06]
American Soldier / Lt. Col. Henry Muller / Terry Santos
All Filipinos will be returned to their
- [41:08]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
hometowns as soon as it's safe. American soldiers and sailors will return to their units as soon as orders come through. Dorothy shakes her head. She can't believe she still has to wait for orders from the Navy. They never would have been in this mess if the Navy had given them orders to evacuate back in 1941. American civilians will be returned state over the next two weeks, but a few of you have tickets to leave immediately. He proceeds to read several names. One is Dr. Dana Nance. Several people applaud, Dorothy included. She had her differences with him, but there's no question he saved a lot of lives and did so under the toughest circumstances. The last name on the list is Thomas Terrell, Dorothy's rock. The man whose affection and support got her through the worst months of her life. Thomas throws his arms in the air.
- [42:11]
American Soldier / Lt. Col. Henry Muller / Terry Santos
I'm going home. I'm going home.
- [42:14]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
Dorothy turns to hug him goodbye. But without even glancing her way, Thomas pushes forward through the crowd, still yelling, I'm going home.
- [42:25]
American Soldier / Lt. Col. Henry Muller / Terry Santos
I'm going home.
- [42:27]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
Dorothy watches in shock. She feels gutted, utterly humiliated. Deep down, she knew that things between them couldn't last. Thomas always made it clear that he loved his wife and wanted to return to her and their child. But Dorothy never expected to be discarded like this. To her embarrassment, she breaks down in tears right there in the crowd. A moment later, she feels an arm around her. Dorothy looks up and is surprised to see Chief Nurse Laura Cobb. That was a damn rotten thing for Thomas to do. Dorothy can only nod before she breaks down again. Cobb takes her hand and leads her back through the crowd toward the prison. All Dorothy wants to do is find her bed and sleep. She'd always pictured her first night of freedom as a joyful occasion. Instead, she feels miserable. The liberation of Los Banos prison camp is considered one of the most successful raids in military history. Of the 2,000, 147 prisoners freed that day, just one suffered a serious injury, a bullet wound to the hip. Five soldiers were killed, three Americans and two Filipino guerrillas. The architect of the raid, Lt. Col. Henry Muller, rose to the rank of brigadier general and commanded paratroopers in the Vietnam War. He. He died in 2022 at age 105. The raid's lead scout, Terry Santos, returned home to San Francisco after the war and attended College on the GI Bill, becoming a hydraulic engineer. He died in 2020 at age 99. Camp Commandant Sadaki Konishi escaped Los Banos in the chaos of the raid, as did dozens of his guards. They proceeded to take revenge on the local population, killing 1,200 Filipinos. Kenishi was captured in September 1945 and executed by the Allies for war crimes. After returning to American soil, the 12 captured nurses were besieged by reporters who made them pose for pictures, eating chocolate. The records that Chief Nurse Laura Cobb smuggled from camp to camp under her shirt, along with eyewitness testimony led to all the nurses being awarded Bronze Stars from the Navy. But like many former POWs, several of the nurses felt alienated, returning to regular life. Mary Rose Harrington married shortly after the war and became a housewife in Virginia. But she found that life boring, so she returned to nursing. She later testified before Congress about the capabilities of women in the military. She died in 1999 at age 85. Basilia Torres, steward, was reunited with her husband, Jerry, who had lost 114 pounds during his own captivity. She died in Texas in 1994. She was 81. Due to lingering health problems, Laura Cobb retired from active service as a lieutenant commander in 1947. She died in 1981. In 1946, Dorothy still eloped. She and her husband settled in Southern California, where he worked as a sound engineer, and she farmed eggs and raised three children. In 1956, Dorothy's husband died and she returned to nursing to support her family. By then, Thomas Terrell had divorced his wife. One day, out of the blue, he mailed Dorothy a cassette tape and asked her to send him one back. He said he missed hearing her voice. The two eventually rekindled their romance and married in 1971. Dorothy died in 2001 at age 86. To this day, the 12 anchors are among only 77 nurses in all of U.S. history to have been taken prisoners of war.
- [46:54]
Audible Announcer
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- [47:07]
Narrator / Cassie Depechel
From Audible Originals. This is episode five of our five part series, World War II nurses turned prisoners of War. A quick note about our scenes in most cases, we can't know exactly what was said, but everything is based on historical research. If you'd like to learn more about this event, we recommend the books this Is really war by Emily LeBeau Lucchese Rescue at Los Banos by Bruce Henderson and We Band of Angels Angels by Elizabeth M. Norman Produced by Audible. I'm your host Cassie Depechel. Sam Keene wrote this episode. Our editor is Steve Fenasey. Sound design by Rob Schieliga engineered by Sergio Enriquez Original theme music Scott Velasquez and 2K for freeze on sync Fact Checking by Alyssa Jung Perry produced by Emily Frost Managing Producer, Desi Blaylock senior producers Andy Herman and Austin Rachlis Executive producer for Audible Jenny Lauer Beckman, Head of Creative Development at Audible Kate Navin, head of Audible Originals North America Marshall Louie Chief Content Officer Rachel Gyazza Copyright 2026 by Audible Originals, LLC. Sound recording Copyright 2026 by Audible Originates, LLC.