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The Great Raider, Ranger Robert Prince, 1919-2009
Robert Prince, the Seattle native and Army Ranger who, as a captain in World War II was the assault force commander of the daring mission to liberate Allied prisoners of war that became known as "The Great Raid," passed away New Years Day in Port Townsend, his family confirmed. He was 89."He died at home," Prince's son, Jim, a commercial fisherman from Port Townsend, confirmed Monday. At Robert Prince's request, no services were held. Remembrances are suggested to the Children's Orthopedic Hospital or a charity of ones choice. "He will be lovingly remembered by his family and friends as a warm, generous, but reserved and humble man," Prince's family said in a funeral notice. A Garfield High and Stanford graduate, Prince was "a lifelong student of history, an avid follower of politics, and until recently, an enthusiastic Husky football fan," his family wrote. Prince's humility extended to the mark in history he made as a soldier, from which he often deflected attention. His obituary says simply, "He served in the Southwest Pacific in New Guinea, the Philippine Islands and in Japan. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his role in the rescue of 571 Bataan prisoners of war from the Cabanatuan Prison Camp January 31, 1945." Prince was only 25 when he was hand-picked by a man he deeply admired, Lt. Col. Henry Mucci, to lead 120 Rangers of the 6th Ranger Battalion, Alamo Scouts and Filipino guerrillas to rescue POWs from a Japanese prison camp near the town of Cabanatuan. The raid was fraught with urgency. It had to be quickly and stealthily carried out behind enemy lines, because the Japanese War Ministry had issued a "kill all policy" to cover up war crimes by executing witnesses, in this case prisoners. They had to get in and get out, and did. The highly successful Jan. 30, 1945 mission, portrayed in a 2005 film "The Great Raid," was quickly heralded across the U.S. Mucci, Prince, nine other Rangers and their wives were sent on war bonds campaigns, and to meet with President Franklin Roosevelt. The Rangers' moment in history faded from the public eye, eclipsed with the invasion of Iwo Jima a month later. Mucci and Prince both received the Army's highest award, the Distinguished Service Cross, which next only to the Medal of Honor is the nation's second highest award for valor. The two also were named to the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame. Prince, originally from Seattle's Madrona neighborhood, returned home to Seattle and his wife Barbara, leaving the Army as a major in February 1946. The couple settled in Wenatchee where they raised two sons and focused on getting on with their lives. Prince's son, Jim, has said his dad never talked about the war or the mission to him or his brother until once, when their mom urged Prince to tell them. Prince carved out a business career marketing Washington apples in Seattle and Wenatchee for 40 years. He retired in 1985 as president of Gwin, White and Prince Inc., and held several leadership positions in the fruit Industry. He and his wife Barbara retired in Kirkland until 2003, when Barbara died, and Prince moved to a condominium in Port Townsend to be near his family. Prince not only knew war as a veteran but as a parent. A son, Spc. 4 Stephen Robert Prince, was killed in action Aug. 11, 1969 near Quang Ngai, Vietnam while serving with the Army's 11th Light Infantry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. Stephen Prince had graduated from Wenatchee High School and attended the University of Washington before he was drafted. In addition to his son, Jim, Prince is survived by daughter-in-law Mardee Stadshaug, grandchildren Amy Murray and Andrew Prince, and a brother, John, of Seattle. He was preceded in death by brothers Ken and Dick of Seattle. After several books and the 2005 film rekindled interest in the famous raid that Prince had planned for Mucci, Prince was known to correspond with admirers who sought him out. In 2005, he was invited to speak in 2005 at a Ranger function at Fort Lewis. P-I readers in 2005 also responded to an interview Prince gave at the time, including many from the Philippines expressing gratitude as well as relatives of the prisoners the Rangers freed. "My father was one of the 500 men whose lives were saved and I would very much like to thank him," one woman wrote to the P-I, wanting to connect with Prince. "As I sat in the theater watching "The Great Raid" it occurred to me that I would not have been born had it not been for those wonderful men who risked their lives to liberate the men of Cabanatuan. My father came back home, married my mother and was twice elected (to local political office in Mississippi,)" she wrote. "Unforturnately, he was deeply scarred from his experiences at the hands of the Japanese and at the age of 42, he committed suicide. I was 9 at the time and my sister was 5. It was such a tragedy and a waste as he was a good man with so much potential." Prince understood what she was talking about, which is why he deflected credit for the valor the Rangers showed that day. His admiration, he always said, was for those he helped to liberate. They included many who had survived the Bataan Death March from the war's beginning through years of captivity. In an Apr. 16, 1945 interview Prince gave to the P-I while home on leave, he said: "People everywhere thank me. I think the thanks should go the other way. I'll be grateful the rest of my life that I had a chance to do something in this war that was not destructive. Nothing for me can ever compare with the satisfaction I got from freeing those men." Posted by: Anonymoose 2009-01-06 |
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