We Band of Angels: The Untold Story of American Nurses Trapped on Bataan by the Japanese

By Elizabeth M. Norman

Book Overview

Hailed by The New York Times Book Review as a "grippingly told" story of "power and relevance," here is the true, untold account of the first American women to prove their mettle under combat conditions. Later, during three years of brutal captivity at the hands of the Japanese, they also demonstrated their ability to survive. Filled with the thoughts and impressions of the women who lived it, "every page of this history is fascinating" (The Washington Post). We Band of Angels In the fall of 1941, the Philippines was a gardenia-scented paradise for the American Army and Navy nurses stationed there. War was a distant rumor, life a routine of easy shifts and evenings of dinner and dancing under the stars. On December 8 all that changed, as Japanese bombs rained on American bases in Luzon, and the women's paradise became a fiery hell. Caught in the raging battle, the nurses set up field hospitals in the jungles of Bataan and the tunnels of Corregidor, where they saw the most devastating injuries of war, and suffered the terrors of shells and shrapnel. But the worst was yet to come. As Bataan and Corregidor fell, a few nurses escaped, but most were herded into internment camps enduring three years of fear and starvation. Once liberated, they returned to an America that at first celebrated them, but later refused to honor their leaders with the medals they clearly deserved. Here, in letters, diaries, and firsthand accounts, is the story of what really happened during those dark days, woven together in a compelling saga of women in war.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671787187
• ISBN13: 9780671787189
• Release Date: May 2000
• Publisher: Atria Books
• Length: 327 Pages
• Weight: 0.82 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 1.0" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

Such a good read

Great book! If you enjoyed Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand I think you'd appreciate this read.

Read it in one sitting

Absolutely captivating, I couldn't put it down. The frank explanations of what these women went through and managed to do despite the circumstances they faced is phenomenal. The author manages to be fairly as it is in her writing style, but does slip in some of her hero worship of the women as well.

Does for Army Nurses what "Saving Private Ryan" did for GIs

A well-researched and written account that brings the grim realities of the Pacific war and the POW experience under the Japanese to all-too vivid life. Yet, it clearly paints an inspiring picture of true rather than mythic heroism. These women are real with failings, foibles, passions and personal problems... yet, they rose to meet their horrid circumstances with tenacity, dedication and sheer grit.Just as the film Saving Private Ryan showed us that the greatness of the average GI was his sheer willingness to do his job in the face of the carnage of war; so We Band Of Angels show us the equal courage and inner strength of women in war. We owe much to them and we have much to learn from them.Bless 'em all!

Masterful, fatual, compelling historical writing

I, too, read Elizabeth Norman's book, We Band of Angels, The Untold Story of American Nurses Trapped on Bataan by the Japanese, over the Memorial Day weekend. She did a masterful job in her research and writing to retell this unique story about this group of America's military nurses and their dedication to duty. This story is unique in American military history, in that in no other instance in our history has this number of military women, been taken captive, held as POWs for almost three years, and all survive. However, it is not unique in its demonstration of military nurses' dedication to honor and duty. The facts in the book speaks loudly to many of today's societal debates, but to Norman's credit, she chose not to get into what many of us euphemistically term "pissing battles of bias". She tells the story of this historical event and its impact on the women who experienced it. She let the story stand on its own merits for anyone who reads it. Am I biased in undertaking this review of her book? To an extent, yes. I am a retired Army Nurse Corps officer, who worked with, or served under some of the women about whom Norman has written, and who we both tremendously admire. I have also had opportunity to know perhaps more about the blueprint of her story than most of the public-at-large. She has done a masterful job. Had she not, I would not have given her the time of day. Norman's research and interviews led her to more details about this historical event than many of us were aware and has interwoven them into the story in a manner that cleared up some of its mysteries. She told us enough about the lives and motivations of many of these women prior to their entering the military, and their lives following this experience, to let us determine for ourselves the extent to which this experience was a seminal and defining life experience for them, individually as well as collectively. Elizabeth Norman is more than a historian, bringing an objective eye to the reporting of facts or experience. She is an expert nurse and researcher, who knows that historical research is not merely the story of people and events, nor does it lend itself to clinical trials or experimental studies, but rather to the analysis of phenomenon with a view toward objectively explaining events, where explanation is possible and faithful to the occurence. Personally, I do not believe anyone other than a dedicated, committed, expert nurse, who also was a historian, could have written this book with the same degree of accuracy, detail and justice deserved by those nurses who lived it. To nurses, and particularly military nurses, this book reminds and rekindles within us that pride the remaining surviving Army and Navy nurses of the Philippines, Bataan, Corregidor, Santo Tomas, and Los Banos must feel in this retelling of "their" story. But this book is not just for nurses, it is for all who have fought for this country, and t

From the perspective of a woman veteran of 22 years service.

Just read a new book "We Band of Angels" and it is quite high on my recommended reading list for any of you interested in military women's stories. It is heartwarming and at the same time heartbreaking. Told in a style that puts the reader directly into the lives of these valiant nurses - it takes you on a journey through the horrors of World War Two in the Pacific - as if you were there. The author draws you into the Malinta Tunnel underground hospital on Corregidor and describes the almost superhuman endurance of the military nurses working there to save their patients - and she does it with balanced style. She reveals their triumphs and their humor, along with the dreary and miserable conditions under which they worked. When the Japanese capture the nurses and send them to Santo Tomas internment camp you journey with them through their three years as prisoners and their ultimate liberation. The author, Dr Elizabeth Norman, has done a remarkable job - using interviews, diaries, letters, and a wealth of research - in telling this story that has been hidden by history. America seems to forget that women are veterans too - Dr Norman has helped remind them.Barbara A. Wilson, Capt. USAF (Ret)