Henry A. Mucci
| Henry Andrews Mucci | |
|---|---|
Colonel Henry Mucci
|
|
| Born |
March 4, 1909 Bridgeport, Connecticut |
| Died | April 20, 1997 (aged 88) Melbourne, Florida |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Army
|
| Years of service | 1936–1946 |
| Rank |
 Colonel
|
| Commands held | 6th Ranger Battalion |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
Distinguished Service Cross Silver Star Legion of Merit Soldier's Medal Bronze Star (2) Purple Heart Army Commendation Medal Presidential Unit Citation |
Henry Andrews Mucci (March 4, 1909 – April 20, 1997) was a colonel in the United States Army Rangers. In January 1945, during World War II, he led a force of 121 Army Rangers on a mission which rescued 513 survivors of the Bataan Death March from Cabanatuan Prison Camp, despite being heavily outnumbered. It is widely considered the most successful rescue mission in the history of the United States military.
Mucci was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to parents who had emigrated from Sicily, Italy.
Today, a section of the United States Embassy in Rome, Italy is named in Mucci's honor.
Henry came from a family of 10 siblings. Two of his brothers also served in the Army and Navy during the Second World War, while his sisters worked at the Veterans of Foreign Wars in America and made bazookas in factories.
He enrolled at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, graduating 246th of 275 in his class in May 1936. While at West Point he participated in lacrosse and, due to his early years growing up with horses, was on the equestrian team.
In February 1943, the US Sixth Army put Mucci in charge of the 98th Field Artillery Battalion, previously a mule-drawn pack artillery unit. Mucci announced that the Battalion was being converted from Field Artillery to Rangers, downsized the battalion from 1,000 men to 500, and held a training camp in New Guinea where he utilized commando type training techniques for over a year. Thus, Mucci created a new battalion of Army Rangers. Mucci survived the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. During the liberation of the Philippines, General Walter Kreuger and one of his top men, Col. Horton White, chose Mucci to head the liberation of the Cabanatuan Prison Camp due to both the difficulty and the peculiar needs of such a mission.
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