U.S. Nurses Survive 3 Years in Japanese Prison Camp

Nurses working for the U.S. Army Nurse Corps were sent to the Philippines from 1939-41 in preparation for possible war in the South Pacific. The world knew Japan was a threat, and the Philippines, a U.S. territory where the military was amassing equipment and supplies, would be a likely target.  

To the young American women finishing high school in the 1930s, a nursing career in the military had appeal. Families were still suffering from the Depression. Salary for military nurses was higher than pay in the private sector. The experience also offered the promise of adventure. If the women were assigned stateside, they would see new parts of their own country. If they were sent to Hawaii or the Philippines, they heard it was like being in a tropical paradise.

Of course, there were whisperings of war. Some parents (and those already serving in the military watching the build-up of supplies in the Pacific) expressed concern, but nothing concrete was known.

By late 1941, 7000 women were in the Army Nursing Corps.

What no one could anticipate was that this war–in both the Eastern and Western theaters—was far worse and of longer duration than anyone expected. The nurses who signed on were loyal and committed. Though what they endured in the course of battle and during internment (prison camp) was horrific. But they were tough and mentally strong, and every last one of them made it home.

Note:

This article refers to the Army and Navy nurses as a group. Each unit had their own assignments that shifted as needed. Once they were captured, they all were eventually held at a large campus belonging to the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. Many remained there. The Navy nurses were sent to a different prison camp later on. To provide the scope of the story, I have not outlined the whereabouts of each group. However, there is a reading list at the conclusion of the article to learn more. The article is long, but these women gave three years of their lives for the freedom we enjoy.

The popular press refers to the women as the “Angels of Bataan.” The women themselves considered the angels to be those who died in the Philippines, so I have not used that term, though I am sure they would not have truly objected to it.

Geography of the Area

After the United States won the Spanish-American War in 1898, America purchased the Philippines from Spain for $20 million dollars. In land mass, the territory was about the size of Arizona. Its South Pacific location 4000 miles from the United States became strategically vital during World War II.

By the mid-1930s, Japan was concerned about the encroachment of the West in the Pacific. As a small island country, they had no oil and few natural resources. The Emperor decided his country needed to claim rights to the Asian islands in the South Pacific, even at the cost of having to attack the United States and the United Kingdom.

General MacArthur

The United States named General Douglas MacArthur to be chief officer of the Southwest Pacific Theatre. He was based on Luzon, the larger island in in the Philippines, from which he intended to safeguard the islands.

 If necessary, the U.S. Army could retreat to the Bataan Peninsula (part of Luzon). For this reason, additional equipment and American supplies were stored there. And if the military needed further protection, the well-fortified rocky island of Corregidor that guarded the mouth of Manila Bay was also well-suited for defense.  

Life in the Philippines Until Pearl Harbor

For the military personnel sent to the Philippines in 1940 and 1941, life was everything they dreamed. Both men and women had regular work shifts, but they had plenty of time for golf, swimming, and cocktail parties. It began as a “perfect” military assignment.

But only hours after the Japanese attacked the United States’ fleet of battle ships in Pear Harbor on December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese military turned to its next target: The Philippines. On December 8, Clark Field, the American airbase on Luzon, was bombed, wiping out many of the airplanes that MacArthur had counted on if the Philippines needed to be defended. In a matter of hours, the Japanese were taking full aim at many American locations in the Philippines.  

There Was a War Plan

Years previously, the U.S. military plotted out War Plan Orange-3 in case the Philippines were ever attacked. The plan was for the American military to withdraw to the Bataan Peninsula. But when the attack in 1941 occurred, no one thought to implement what seemed like a drastic plan of retreat. Surely, Americans could get the upper hand before long.

But the Japanese continued their bombing. The numbers of the wounded and the dead ballooned. Suddenly, the nursing staff was extremely busy taking in both civilian and military wounded.

General MacArthur ordered that all personnel, including the nurses, be issued gas masks to be strapped to their belts at all times. The nurses were also given helmets from World War I in case of direct attack.

More Bombing

Within a few days, the Japanese took out the other airfields near Manila. MacArthur still believed the combined U.S and Filipino Armies would be tough enough to hold off the Japanese. Part of MacArthur’s mission in arriving in the Philippines was to form and train a Filipino Army. This training was underway, but the Filipinos were woefully under-prepared for the type of combat that was to follow. Despite this, the Filipinos were determined to resist the Japanese and came up with ways to aid the Americans by picking up intelligence. (In 2017, they were awarded a Filipino Congressional Medal of Honor for their efforts.)

As the situation worsened, MacArthur instructed the military to move back toward Bataan where extra supplies had originally been stockpiles. However, in a case of bad planning, the military had moved some of the extra supplies up to be closer to Manila. As the group edged toward Bataan, the extras the military had counted on were no longer there.

As civilians and military struggled to leave Luzon and move to the Bataan Peninsula they encountered many others.  There were some 80,000 soldiers and some 26,000 civilians all attempting to reach the same place. The pathways were chaotic, and movement was slow. The Japanese continued to bomb the area, and many were wounded or killed.

Medical Staff on the Move

Since the military was vacating Luzon and the areas near Manila, the medical personnel had to evacuate the hospital. This meant moving all the equipment they could and transferring patients.

On Bataan, there were no shelters to use for the sick or injured. Instead, two open-air “Jungle Hospitals” were established about five miles apart. Patients were initially settled on mats on the ground, but as more supplies arrived, cots were delivered. These cots were only 12 inches high so the nurses were constantly bending over to care for people. Some nurses crawled from bed to bed to save their backs.

During the 2^nd week of January, rations were cut in half for staff and fighting troops. Nurses stretched medicine and morphine as they could, but many surgeries were far from pain-free. Another danger was “gas gangrene,” caused by the moist humid weather. One Filipino doctor found a solution, but it required cutting open each wound to expose it to air and light.

Endless Mosquito Problem

Throughout there was also no escaping the bugs.

Mosquito nets were in short supply. Malaria and other bug-spread viruses traveled freely. One night a nurse found herself lucky enough to have a mosquito net, but in the middle of the night, the camp awakened to her shrieks. A rat had come in under the net and could not free himself from the mesh webbing, giving them both a horrible night.

Surrender?

In early March, the Japanese began demanding surrender, but the United States fought on. The Japanese soon cut the supply lines, the American military kept going…so did the increase in numbers of dead and  wounded.

With the supply lines cut, even water was in short supply. The men became so desperately thirsty they would sometimes drink from pools of muddy water. The momentary satisfaction of assuaging their thirst often led to dysentery and other jungle threats carried by dirty water.

The nurses were hard-pressed to keep up with the work. Their initial shifts in the jungle were 12 hours, but soon they were working for as long as 20 hours before they would try to grab some sleep.

There was also no lighting that could permit the nurses to tend to patients at night. As a result, many took to carrying flashlights in their mouths to keep their hands free.

As food became more and more scarce, the military took to butchering horses and mules and monkeys.  They also killed and ate Asian water buffalo (carabao), but the meat from these animals was tough and hard to carve out decent pieces.

MacArthur to Australia

As the United States military retreated to Bataan Peninsula, General MacArthur made arrangements to use Corregidor for his headquarters as needed. When the United States first acquired the Philippines, they sent in the military to build tunnels—including railroad tunnels–under the rocky island. These tunnels provided cover for troop movement, and the rocky terrain was somewhat protective.

But as the brass in Washington saw what was happening, they recommended MacArthur and his family leave for Australia. He would be no good to the U.S. as a prisoner.  Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright was left as the general in command of the troops on the ground.  

The Japanese continued to push forward in the Philippines, boxing the Americans and Filipinos onto the Bataan Peninsula. All supplies were diminishing.

On April 9, General MacArthur ordered General Wainwright to begin moving people out of of the Bataan Peninsula. Personnel, civilians and supplies should be shifted to the “Rock,” as Corregidor was known.

When the time for surrender finally came (April 9, 1942), the Americans were very specific about one thing: They were not beaten at war by the Japanese. They were defeated by starvation, disease, and despair. 

Nurses Reluctant to Leave Patients

This was unsettling news to civilians and the military, but few were as undone by it as the military nurses. In training, they were taught to never leave the side of patients who needed them. Now they looked around Jungle Hospital #1 and Hospital #2. They saw how few patients were ambulatory and how limited their resources for moving them were. Some of the nurses resisted, but soon officers came through telling them they could not refuse an order. Departure was an order, not a choice.

The scenes of departure were chaotic.  Military and civilians were all on the run, using every conveyance they had. The nurses attempted to take care of each other, but soon saw they just had to follow those who were directing them to flatbed trucks, cars, ambulances, and more trucks. Many walked during parts of the journey.

Terror in Manila Bay

When they arrived at the tip of Bataan, they faced the next challenge. Were there enough boats and seaplanes to take all the people across the water to Corregidor? The distance was about 30 miles. Each trip took time.

Over the course of the night of April 8, boats came and went to the landing point, loading as many people as possible. In the chaos, some people panicked and decided to try to swim out to some of the larger boats. But all the boats were overpacked and couldn’t risk trying to pull someone aboard.

All who traveled across Manila Bay that night were well aware that people around them were falling into the water and drowning. 

Arrival on Corregidor

By the time the new evacuees arrived, the military had established a system for use of the tunnels. Some tunnels were for surgery; others for wound care; those with illnesses in yet another.

And everyone—civilians and military alike—were given shelter in the tunnels, though they were totally jammed. Initially, it was thought that Corregidor might house 500; by later in April, there were 1500 people.

The nurses later described the deafening noise of the bombs that just never seemed to stop. While the rocky land was somewhat protective of the tunnels, the reverberations from the bombings were unsettling and upsetting. Everyone was fearful. 

Because of overcrowding and too little ventilation, the air was dank. Putrid smells emanated throughout. Some people became so desperate to breathe fresh air that they took advantage of nightfall to step outside of the tunnels for a time. On some nights, the Japanese saw that people were outside and sent more bombs.

Another Surrender

On May 6—after withstanding almost a month in the tunnels of Corregidor, the soldiers and civilians were told that MacArthur ordered General Wainwright to surrender. While that news was bad because the Japanese were known for brutality to their captives, they knew there was nothing to do.  There was some relief in knowing that the terrifying bombing all around them would stop.

The Japanese arrived in the tunnels, forcing the civilians and the military out. The nurses again had to leave their wounded behind. Not knowing the fate of their patients was one of the hardest tasks for the nursing staff. Despite immense adversity, they had worked tirelessly to provide as much comfort as they could.

Bataan Death March

The Japanese wasted no time sending people off to their destinations. The American and Filipino soldiers were lined up and slated to go to Camp O’Donnell. Though the Japanese had trucks in which they could have conveyed the prisoners, they decided to begin the torture of the men immediately.

They were corralled to walk the 65 miles to the camp. All of them had just come off fighting on Corregidor. They were tired, hungry, and thirsty, but the Japanese ignored all this. Despite heat and high humidity, no one was offered food or water, and anyone who stopped to rest was shot immediately.

Seventy-five thousand began this nightmare walk. They were not offered food or water  despite very warm temperatures. If anyone stopped to rest, they were shot or bayoneted. In the process, as many as 500 Americans and an estimated 2500 Filipino soldiers died or were killed. (These numbers vary widely depending on the source—all in all, the numbers were high.)

The conditions at the prison camp were so bad that some 1500 Americans and 26,000 Filipinos died of starvation and disease.

Civilians and Nurses to Santo Tomas Prison Camp

The walled campus of Santo Tomas University in Manila was the destination for most of the other prisoners. The society included everyone from shopkeepers and shoemakers to industry executives.

During the first year, the Japanese encouraged self-government. The prison administrators provided some food and medicines, but it was not adequate. In addition to providing shelter, they permitted prisoners to receive care packages from those on the outside of the prison camp. Some vendors were allowed to come in to sell food directly. For those who had cash, these was a huge benefit. They often shared with those who couldn’t afford the extra food.

The nurses had a wealthy “guardian angel” on the outside. They had come to know the woman personally, and when she learned their fate, she sent her driver in to the camp as often as she could with fresh fruit and whatever the women needed.

The first 9-10 months, life in the prison camp was manageable. Food was sparse, so everyone was hungry, but they found ways to make do. 

Typhoon

In November of 1943, the area was hit by a typhoon. Gale force winds and heavy rains (27 inches over a period of three days) made it almost impossible to get around. The nurses could not travel the block-long distance between their bunks and the hospital. The military finally strung a hemp rope for them to hold on to on their trips back and forth.  The waters were so deep everyone had to hold anything they carried above their heads to keep it from being sucked under water. 

If there was a silver lining to that autumn, it was that the Red Cross was permitted to deliver care packages to all the prisoners. But that was the only Christmas during the three-year incarceration that the Japanese permitted the Red Cross to send gifts and food in to the people being held—even for the children.

War Turns for Japanese

As Japan’s strength began to fade and the Allies gained some traction in the South Pacific, the Japanese reduced what was sent in to Santo Tomas. While food had never been plentiful, now no meat at all was sent to the camps.  Weight loss and nutritional issues began to affect most people.

As the population at Santo Tomas grew, the Japanese saw that they needed a new camp. Los Banos was in a beautiful location north of Manila. The Japanese selected some of the stronger men in Santo Tomas to be among those who were transferred so they could set up the new camp. The Navy nurses were also included in the population that was chosen to relocate.

Their trip began well with a two-hour open-air trip by truck. But at the rail lines, the people were off-loaded and stuffed into closed rail cars for the next 6-7 hours. There was no ventilation, and the group realized that this assignment might be worse than what they had just left.

Santo Tomas Placed Under War Prisoner Department

By 1944, the people in both camps were struggling. Illness and disease were rampant, and their rations were continually reduced. The management of the camp was placed under the War Prisoner Department headed by General Morimoto.

Radical changes took place. The community was no longer able to self-govern. There were new rules and more hardships. The Japanese military also instituted a new system where prisoners were demanded to bow low before each Japanese person they encountered. In a normal situation, this might seem like a rather absurd “nicety,” but to the starving prisoners, it was one more difficult burden. Because they were all so weak from hunger, the act of bowing low and holding the position was a risk each time a person had to perform it. For a population that struggled to climb stairs, bowing always risked the possibility of pitching forward and hitting the ground.

There was plenty of work for the nurses, and they kept at it. They knew their commitment to their patients was part of what kept them alive.   

Camp Grows Worse

By June 1944, the Japanese exhausted their supply of rice and corn for the prisoners.  In the Philippines a poor variety of sweet potato, a camote, grew plentifully, but by the time it was peeled  there was very little nutritional value.

That July the town garbage trucks were no longer coming through meaning that the sanitation situation grew even worse.

By October of 1944, the Japanese cut back even further on food distribution: internees received approximately 6 ounces of food a day–two ounces of mush for breakfast, two ounces of rice for lunch, and two ounces of rice and gravy for supper. The nurses reported constantly thinking of food.

From Georgia-born Lieutenant Frances Nash: “The pain of hunger is indescribable. I saw my friends’ faces with the skin drawn tight across the bones, their eyes sunken, unnaturally bright and deeply circled.  …Hunger leaves one constantly dizzy and causes severe headaches…”

In November, the staff was physically weak. No one could lift gurneys or stretchers. Carpenters who were to make the needed coffins stumbled through their work. Many suffered beriberi (B1 deficiency). While the nursing staff had some thiamin that could help them feel better, the nurses hands shook while giving injections, She described her co-workers as an Army of walking skeletons.

Liberation

By late January of 1945, those in the camp could sense that something was changing. There were explosions in and around Manila, so the Allies must be nearing. The Japanese camp administrators were packing papers and burning files. All the prisoners could do was hope.

On February 3, 1945, the sky darkened with the sound of planes… About 5 p.m., ten American planes flew over the camp. One pilot flew lower than the others and tossed his goggles out of the cockpit. Nurse Madeline Ullom reported that a note was wrapped around the goggles, saying: “Christmas is here. We’ll be in today or tomorrow.”

That night the Japanese ordered everyone inside for a full blackout. Anyone looking out a window would be shot.  The prisoners knew the Japanese had spread gasoline around the camp. They feared fire and destruction. The incarcerated sat within the buildings, craning to see if they could see anything without being seen.

“They Are Here!”

By later that night, they heard welcome sounds. Allied tanks crashed through the prison camp gate. Nurse Madeline Ullom of Tucson reported that one uniformed American soldier walked in front of the tanks and called out: “Hi folks! Are there any Americans in there?” Shouts were heard throughout the camp.

The feelings of relief were immense, but they were not free yet.

General MacArthur’s Orders

MacArthur had heard that the Japanese planned to kill all the prisoners. (The Japanese were known for their atrocities.)  MacArthur ordered the First Cavalry and the Forty-fourth Tank Division to fight their way directly to Santo Tomas. Their mission was to secure the prisoners. They were not to take time to secure the areas through which they traveled, leaving the Japanese soldiers still able ot carry on.

This meant the Americans reached the prisoners, but there were still incoming bombs and raids. In addition, the Japanese within the camp herded 200 people into the administration building to use as hostages. Their release needed to be secured, too.

In the meantime, the toll of injured soldiers and civilians continued to grow. The nurses did all they could to treat the wounded if the few supplies they had. The Americans saw the physical state of the prisoners and willingly shared their rations, but most people were in such a state of starvation that they could eat only small bites of food. Eating more resulted in terrible stomach pain. Starvation had become a way of life.

Relief in Sight

On February 7, The Japanese struck one of the main buildings, and several people were killed. The work for the nurses continued. Finally, on February 9, 100 Army nurses arrived from Leyte to relieve all those working in the camp.  At last, things were looking better.  On February 12, the Americans began moving those held in the prison camp—including the nurses—-to moved them to Leyte—still part of the Philippines, but about 2 hours south by plane.

On Feb 20, 1945, the first of the POW nurses left Leyte for the United States on a hospital plane. All stopped in Honolulu for a couple of nights before continuing on to San Francisco.  The Army Nurses were free.

Navy Nurses Still Held

But the Navy nurses were still prisoners of war. The Americans knew they needed to get to the Los Banos Internment Camp, but planning was needed. The Japanese intended to kill the prisoners, but many of their soldiers were fighting elsewhere. Those guarding the Los Banos camp lined up machine guns facing outward and planned to stay on watch until February 23 when Japanese reinforcements were expected. Then they would wipe out all those in the camp.  

In the meantime, the Americans had a guerilla combat team on the ground. They would surround the camp before first light when American paratroopers would arrive. More combat troops and a battalion of amphibian tractors were right behind.

The American plan went off well. Within a few hours, all 200 of the Japanese were killed or taken prisoner. The 2157 internees were moved to Manila for evacuation as quickly as possible.

Honors

All the nurses were eventually evacuated to Leyte where they had physicals and were debriefed and fed.  The military knew some sort of an award was appropriate, but they had never intended to have women in combat. The procedure for honoring these nurses was not in place. However, before the group left Leyte, enough uniforms were sent in and a ceremony was held. Each POW received a presidential citation and Bronze Star with two Oak Leaf clusters. 

Three nurses—Lieutenant Rosemary Hogan, Lieutenant Rita Palmer, and Lieutenant Frances Nash received Purple Heart for wounds inflicted before surrender. 

Lieutenant Mary B. Menzie was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received white imprisoned. And Lieutenant Vivian Weisblatt was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received during the shelling of Santo Tomas.

In 2017, all the Filipinos who served during World War II (250,000 of them) were awarded a Congressional Filipino American Medal of Honor. The Filipino nurses were included in this group as well.

In 2023, Lieutenant Colonel Hortense McKay received the Congressional Gold Medal for her service in Bataan. She went on to a long and illustrious career in the Army Nursing Corps.

Their indefatigable leader Major Maude C. Davidson was put up for commendation but no special award ever went through. This was unfortunate as all those who worked in and around the nurses saw that Major Davidson’s leadership and her insistence on discipline at all times was a great part of what saved the women.

In 2021, a bill was introduced in Congress (S.1079) to honor those who served in the Philippines. Called the Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Congressional Gold Medal Act, the bill is currentl being considered by the Senate.

Trauma of Nurses Not Acknowledged

After World War II, the military knew that some soldiers suffered “shell shock.” Psychiatrists were beginning to study combat stress and what might be done about it, but nothing was definitive.

The military looked the other way when it came to the nurses. They weren’t supposed to be in combat anyway, and they were very familiar with the trauma of the wounded. As a result, the counseling given them at that time was that they should not talk about what they had been through. It would be better for their mental health if they moved on from the experience.

Every now and then some of the women reported that they did try to describe to friends or relatives what their experiences had been like, but too often, the response from others was: “It can’t have been that bad…” or “You don’t want to talk about that…”

While the military is still far from fully understanding how best to help combat veterans, they do know that the advice given the women was not what they would be given today.

Story Should Be Told and Re-Told

In the meantime, the story of these 77 nurses needs to be told often and in as many places as possible. We are fortunate that Eunice Young of Arkport, New York, ignored the regulation that diaries could be kept. She successfully wrote in her as often as she could. She successfully hid it from authorities and took it with her when the camp was liberated. This—and the recollections of the nurses that were gathered later has given us one of the ways the public has learned about the nurses’ experiences.

The women all endured a year of fighting, followed by three years of being imprisoned by the Japanese. They worked throughout to take care of others. They need to be remembered.

Reading Suggestions

I found this book to be most helpful in understanding the scope of the fighting:

All This Hell: U.S. Nurses Imprisoned by the Japanese by Evelyn M. Monahan and Rosemary Neidel-Greenle, University Press of Kentucky, 2000.

If you want to read stories of the nurses, this is a good one:

We Band of Angels: The Untold Story of the American Women Trapped on Bataan, by Elizabeth M. Norman, Random House, 1999.

And another about a nurse who left many documents of her service:

Angel of Bataan: The Life of a World War II Army Nurse in the War Zone and at Home by Walter M. Macdougall, Down East Books, 2015. (A biography of nurse Alice Zwicker based on her family’s collection and recollections.)

There have been a few movies made about this story, but read the history first—it’s a challenging story to tell.

Special Acknowledgment

Edna W. Cummings is currently an Army Reserve Ambassador who is ceaselessly in her support for those who served in battle but have not been fully recognized. She contacted me with this story idea, and I am deeply grateful. In the meantime, she has worked hard to be certain the the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion receives hte recognition they deserve while some of the women are still alive.

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