"Even though women were not supposed to be on the front lines, on the front lines we were. Women were not supposed to be interned either, but it happened to us. People should know what we endured. People should know what we can endure."-Lt. Col. Madeline Ullom

More than one hundred U.S. Army and Navy nurses were stationed in Guam and the Philippines at the beginning of World War II. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, five navy nurses on Guam became the first American military women of World War II to be taken prisoner by the Japanese. More than seventy army nurses survived five months of combat conditions in the jungles of Bataan and Corregidor before being captured, only to endure more than three years in prison camps.

When freedom came, the U.S. military ordered the nurses to sign agreements with the government not to discuss their horrific experiences. Evelyn Monahan and Rosemary Neidel-Greenlee have conducted numerous interviews with survivors and scoured archives for letters, diaries, and journals to uncover the heroism and sacrifices of these brave women.

Evelyn M. Monahan served as a U.S. Army medic during the Vietnam era and is a retired psychologist. Rosemary Neidel-Greenlee served in the Navy Nurse Corps during the Vietnam era and has held a number of clinical and administrative posts within the Department of Veterans Affairs. Monahan and Neidel-Greenlee are coauthors, with Agnes Jensen Mangerich, of Albanian Escape: The True Story of U.S. Army Nurses Behind Enemy Lines.

Reviews:

"This compelling narrative . . . sheds great light on the sacrifices and contributions of these 'Angels of Bataan and Corregidor.'"WWII History

"Like their male counterparts, these nurses faced the reality of combat, anguish of surrender, and the brutality of captivity. Their story is one chapter in the annals of World War II that must be told, if American men and women are to appreciate the depth of sacrifices made by their countrymen and women in the cause of freedom."-Rear Admiral Frances Shea Buckley, Nurse Corps, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

"Goes far toward telling their story in a way most readers can grasp, sensing the heroism as well as the horrors of some of the most desperate years our Republic has ever faced."-Frank F. Mathias

"A readable and gripping introduction to the topic."-Library Journal

"A genuine gift to the documentation from which we all need to learn, appreciate and take to heart in the future."- Stars and Stripes

"Documents the harrowing WWII experiences of American Army and Navy nurses in the Pacific. . . . Should be read by every school child in generations to come."-Victoria Advocate

"As well as ably telling the story of what women can tolerate in the service of their country, the authors give a stirring account of the fighting that took place on Bataan and Corregidor at that time."-American History

"Adds a tremendous chapter to the narrative of women prisoners in wartime by following a cast of characters almost cinematically through their daily routines and their reflections recorded in letters, diaries, and interviews."-Rain Taxi

"A realistic reconstruction of the dramatic experiences of these POWs. . . . Adds a vital chapter to the history of the Second World War."-Bulletin of the Arnold and Leona Institute of Holocaust Research

"Their stories are worth telling, worth reading and most important, worth remembering."-St. Petersburg Times