Angels of War
Rose Williams is one of a group of US Army nurses who are posted to Manila in October 1941. Their reasons for volunteering are various: to be close to someone, to escape someone, to find a husband or, in Rose’s case, to feel closer to her father who, according to her mother, died in Manila. When they arrive, the hospital has few patients and they work only four-hour shifts, spending their spare time swimming, playing tennis, partying, dancing and, in Rose’s case, falling in love. It seems like paradise.
Then, on December 8th, the Japanese begin bombing, and paradise soon turns to hell. The hospital fills with patients, but as the enemy advances, they are forced to evacuate and establish a field hospital deep in the jungle and then in an island fortress, each time leaving their patients behind. Finally, the Japanese capture the island, and there is nowhere to go. They are taken prisoner and spend the rest of the of the war in a prison camp. When the war ends the survivors are freed, but at what cost?
The story is based on the experiences of a real group of nurses. From this Kortchik has constructed a tale of hardship, suffering and cruelty but also of bravery, friendship and love. It is not the story that sticks in the memory, but descriptions of appalling suffering endured by the sick and injured and by the nurses. The suffering, deprivation and starvation are harrowing. But there is also devotion to duty, self-sacrifice, bravery and love.
It will appeal to anyone interested in World War 2 and in events in this lesser-known theatre of war. Recommended.
