We Band of Angels

We Band of Angels: The Untold Story of American Nurses Trapped on Bataan by the Japanese by Elizabeth M. Norman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Once I found out that one of the women captured during World War II by the Japanese in the Philippines was from my own small town of Lonaconing, it was a given that I would read this book. Ninety-nine Navy and Army nurses who were never before exposed to the brutal conditions of war did not realize what was in their future when they signed up for the almost exotic life of hospital nursing, tennis matches, and cocktails. How these women survived is an amazing feat of heroics. The book contains excerpts of diaries, snippets of interviews, and many American and Japanese photos of the nurses on duty before the war, open jungle hospitals, internment camps and starvation, and later ceremonies honoring the women. The author continued the story long after their release from the POW camp. A must read for anyone going into nursing or interested in World War II facts and information.

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