Rating: 
Summary: A Nurse Becomes a Hero
Review: The book, We Band of Angels by Elizabeth M. Norman, portrays the lives of nurses in the military during World War 2 in the Philippines. In the book, the war nurses prove to be convincing heroes because they displayed courage, determination, and intelligence. These are all qualities that a hero would possess. The story of these heroes proves to be a worthwhile reading.
One of the heroic qualities that were displayed throughout the book was courage. Courage within the nurses was needed to maintain organization during the chaos of war. The Philippines was a gruesome place to be during the war. The nurses set up hospitals in the wilderness of the jungle to be closer to the soldiers fighting on the front line. Although the Japanese were bombing all around the hospitals, the women tuned out the noise of the bombs in order to take care of their patients. As the enemy got closer, they were ordered to leave the hospital but refused. The nurses said that they would not leave their patients unattended because they needed their care. Even though the nurses were not forced to stay, they gathered enough courage to stand their ground and stay with the men. The nurses did this because they could not bear the weight of leaving men to die. This proved to the people who thought that women should not be in war that they would not back down from their duty. This also showed the wounded soldiers that the women had confidence in them and would nurse them back to health. Later on, the hospital was forced to surrender to the enemy. Japanese soldiers watched the nurses day and night. During one night, a Japanese soldier tried to force a nurse to kiss him. Although the nurse was petrified she demonstrated courage by refusing the soldier regardless of the consequences. By committing this act, she sent a message to the Japanese that these women belonged here and had enough courage to stand up to them.
Determination was another heroic quality displayed throughout the book. In order to survive each day without knowing what lay ahead, the nurses had determination to get through every situation. Since the nurses in Santo Tomas were broke, Josie Nesbit, one of the head nurses, was concerned that some of the nurses might sell themselves to wealthy men in the camp for money. She gathered the older nurses and asked them to try to raise the morality of the group. She was determined to not let anyone regret coming to the Philippines for paradise and ending up with the "wasteland of war." Her determination was the backbone of the morality of the group of nurses. This scene is important because it shows that the nurses were there for more than just pleasure and that even women can remain steady and not be fragile during a rough situation. This scene describes the character of Josie Nesbit. She was always trying to cheer up the girls and was always a leader. She was a determined to not let the girls change the image of an American soldier. In this scene she demonstrates that women can be just as strong and determined as men.
Another heroic quality that the nurses displayed was intelligence. Intelligence was important because the nurses needed to decide how to help an injured soldier and they needed to make quick decisions. The nurses were running low on malaria vaccines in one of the jungle hospitals. For the past two weeks, they had been giving themselves a certain amount of the vaccine for malaria each day. If the nurses did not receive the vaccine, they would become ill. In order to save the lives of men, they divided the amount of vaccine that they were receiving so that they would be able to have some for the men. The nurses risked illness by doing so but they knew that they would not be as ill as some of the soldiers. If the nurses had not found out the right amount of vaccine needed, most of the men with malaria in the hospital would have died. In essence, they saved lives with their quick, intelligent actions. This scene is an example of conflict/resolution. The nurses started out with the conflict of not having enough vaccines and resolved it by lowering the amount of vaccine per person while still keeping people healthy. This example of intelligence is significant because the role of the nurses was to save lives and they did so by thinking quickly. Also, the nurses proved to the male doctors and soldiers that women are not just delicate but are also smart and useful in a time of need. Although the nurses faced many hardships, they conquered each one with great heroism. The nurses demonstrated many aspects of a hero but mainly the qualities of courage, determination, and intelligence. The book successfully portrayed a woman in the role of a hero while keeping you interested with great stories of the war.
Rating:
Summary: Critique on bias of the author!
Review: The author Dr. Elizabeth Norman, tells her story very accurately and interestingly. Although it is told through a second hand view, Dr. Norman's grandmother and other nurses that survived told many of the facts. Not only did Dr. Norman strive to become a nurse from a young age, but she is now a professor of nursing and the director at NY University Division of Nursing and specializes in nursing history. She has written tow other novels bases on the stories of nurses during Vietnam and World War I. The reader always felt that the author was more than qualified on the topic. Yet many times the reader felt the bias towards the Japanese on a more personal level, because Dr. Norman's own grandmother was in fact one of the nurses that survived to tell the story. She tells the story as if the Japanese soldiers are the enemy from the beginning. One nurse that was interviewed for the novel mentioned "I don't want the word angels in the title, nursing is a noble job, we were just doing our job, and we were by no means angels..." stated Nelson another survivor. Though Dr. Nelson's passion towards the nurses makes the novel thrilling and exciting, it is not purely accurate.
Rating: 
Summary: We Band Of Angels
Review: Elizabeth Norman's historical account of nurses trapped on Bataan in World War II, We Band of Angels, was a moving and informative story of the heroic deeds performed by women in the military. It is a very interesting book and is recommended for more advanced readers who enjoy war stories.
This story takes place a few months after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entered WWII. The Japanese soon capture Corregidor, a small island in the Philippines, and General MacArthur's weakened troops are forced to surrender due to severe supply shortages. Before the war, some young American women looking for excitement joined the army as nurses, hoping its promises would fulfill their dreams of finding adventure. "Women who wanted adventure and romance - self possessed, ambitious and unattached women - signed up...(p2 of pictures)." Little did they know just how much adventure they would find and what heroes they would prove to be. A hero is someone who possesses the ability to do great things. They are usually intelligent, have some type of extraordinary ability, and usually channel these attributes towards helping others. Ancient Greek heores were emphasized as being more physically strong than mentally strong. There is also a fallen hero, like Roy Hobbs in The Natural, who had the qualities needed to be a hero, except for a character flaw that led him to a downfall. The nurses on Bataan possessed many of these characteristics and can be characterized as heroes.
While the United States was unprepared for what the war would bring, the army officers on Bataan, being so isolated from allied forces, were easy prey for the vicious Japanese military. Though incredibly surprised by the attack and ill equipped for the turmoil that was to come, the officers and nurses on Bataan were ready to keep fighting for as long as they could survive. Every nurse, the "Angels" as they called themselves, thrust her fear aside and bravely continued to serve the sick and wounded, despite the fact that in many cases they were so ill they could barely stand themselves. Still, unable to get much needed food and medical supplies, the medical officers on Bataan had to give in to the enemy. Some nurses, supposedly picked at random, were allowed to escape the horrors that would come and made it back to America. The others were forced into army internment camps where many men lost their lives in mass shootings and others were brutally punished for minor acts. Though for a while conditions under Japanese command seemed to improve, the Japanese shortly resumed their harsh control. The camps' inhabitants suffered immensely from various diseases and conditions. Most were malnourished, as food was in short supply, and the condition of patients already suffering from diseases became steadily worse, most of them dying. Even through the heartbreaking deaths, terror, and unimaginable living conditions, the people (especially the nurses) never gave up hope. They seemed to be able to maintain faith in their country and that one day they would be rescued. One nurse said, "If you gave up hope, you would have just folded up and died (p. 165)." And, after suffering, but surviving, terrible conditions for about three years, the rescue finally came. Around Christmas, 1945, American tanks burst through the iron gates of the internment camp, reinstating hope in all. Still, the Japanese would not surrender to the Americans until after they held a group of people hostage. This climax is well depicted by the author, with a lot of suspense. The Japanese could not long withstand the American army and the inhabitants of the camp were soon liberated. The "Angels" in this story can definitely be viewed as heroes. Elizabeth Norman depicts their heroism by describing many qualities and feelings they had. One quality of a hero that they surely possessed is the ability to put others before themselves. Of course, it is the job of a nurse to care for others, but the nurses on Bataan unquestionably did beyond what they were required, or even expected. These courageous women risked and sacrificed their lives to ensure the safety of others around them; often putting aside personal needs just to protect their patients and colleagues. When one nurse became ill with malaria, "she set herself on a cot in the middle of her ward and directed the work of her staff from there. (p. 51)" The nurses were very reluctant to withdraw from their work - they persevered and finished the job, no matter what it took. "Many nurses were sick with malaria and dengue (p. 140)," said Madeline Ullom, one of the nurses. Still, they still kept on fighting. The women stayed determined to survive during even the most difficult moments, and fought to the end, a typical characteristic possessed by heroes.
Another trait of heroism these women demonstrated was courage. Though the nurses were non-combatant members of the army, they did much fighting of their own. They showed much bravery in "battle," and in the face of the enemy. The nurses did their best to keep calm when treating the thousands of casualties entering the hospital each day, and never lost their wit. The army nurses realized that they had to take risks to protect themselves and their patients. "Soon the women began to forage for food...they waited for the guards to pass, then two or three of them would...return with as many cans of tomatoes and sacks of flour as they could hide...(p. 138)." They came up with plans, though risky, to steal food for their starving patients and themselves. They kept busy to maintain their sanity and help them to cope with their loss of freedom when under Japanese command. As she entered the internment camp, one nurse "Filled up her day with projects and reading and exercises (p.158)," another said, "The secret to being a survivor is to keep busy (p. 166)." The women were intelligent, further proving their heroism.
This is truly an account of the courage, strength, and hope possessed by the heroes in the book. Though the story is non-fiction story, it is very interesting and at times what the nurses went through is unbelievable. The author shows that though the nurses viewed themselves as ordinary people, in a time of crisis they were able to gather strength, saving lives to find a hero in themselves.
Rating: 
Summary: We Band of Angels
Review: Living in hard conditions often forces people to change their ways and make sacrifices. However, no one could dream of what the army nurses in Elizabeth M. Norman's We Band of Angels sacrificed to benefit others, and not themselves. In this book the author tells the stories of the heroic nurses trapped on Bataan by the Japanese in a detailed, interesting, and suspenseful manner. In ancient Greek civilizations a hero was someone who was brutal, handsome, strong, and normally accomplished something physically that benefited himself, and maybe a few close to him. Greeks strived to gain power and glory; however now, this is not what a true hero strives for. True heroes make both mental and physical accomplishments that benefit others, and not necessarily themselves. A true hero is able to adapt to tough conditions, and in those conditions put others before themselves. A true hero breaks barriers, and can be found where least expected. Anyone wanting to read a wonderfully written story about true heroes must read the story of these "angels of Bataan".
Norman communicates the stories of these "Angels" in a way that sucks the reader into the lives of these women and makes them feel the pain that they felt. The author interviewed many of the nurses who survived, and from them learned the tragic, yet successful story of their lives and other nurses' lives such as, "Red" Harrington, Helen "Cassie" Cassiani, Minnie Breese, Laura Cobb, Josie Nesbit, Juanita Redmond, Maude Davison, Ruby Bradley, and many more. These brave, young nurses wanted a way out of the depressing, normal world, and adventurously signed up to be nurses in the army/navy. Stationed in the Philippine Islands in 1941 the nurses lived in paradise. After only a few months, on December 8th 1941 the Japanese began to bomb the paradise and transformed the flowery island into a nightmare that would haunt these heroines for years to come.
In this nightmare of reality the author uses suspense, and brings the reader closer to where the nurses are through her interesting writing. Throughout the story the nurses show their heroism more, and more, and they prove that women can do anything that a men can do. Onlookers were astonished when such heroism was found in these women who were once looked upon as fragile. These women could survive through anything a man could. Norman tells how every night and everyday these angels watched the war take the lives and spirits of so many. But, every day and every night they showed their heroic qualities no matter what the surcomstances. The conditions they lived in, are those that one can't even begin to imagine until opening this book. They were ordered to move from place to place and did so without complaint. They lived in everywhere from humid jungles to cramped submarines, and from crowded hospitals to brutal internment camps. However, even in these conditions they adapted and made due with what they had. They gave up a roof over their heads, and traded in their white dresses for canvas overalls worn by men to better maneuver when working such long, hard hours. They cut their hair so it would not be in the way of their work too. They gave up all feminine things and toughened physically and mentally; otherwise they would not survive. Their few supplies and necessities could only last so long, so they knit themselves underwear and rationed their food. The nurses starved but still showed how heroic they were by not feeling bad for themselves, but by going with the flow, and putting every bit of the scarce energy they had into caring for their patients. They suffered so much so the wounded would not half to. No one ever made them give up safety, or comfort, they just did it. When reading this book it is hard to believe that not once through the whole thing there was any sign of the nurses feeling self pity, or the thought of caring for themselves before a patient even while sickness and starvation gnawed at their spirits. Some, like Minnie Breese were sick with jungle diseases such as malaria but still kept on taking care of their patients without complaint. When a few of the nurses were given the chance to escape and go home they felt guilty leaving the wounded in their beds, and reluctant to leave their suffering colleagues. One nursed, Juanita Redmond stated, "I wanted to go, and I wanted to stay with them and face whatever was to come; we had faced so much together, and I felt like a deserter."(pg106) Heroism always appeared no matter how much they were sufffering. They demonstrated such loyalty to their collegues and patients, but working in these jungle hospitals were only the begginning.
As the Japanese gained more and more control over the Americans on Bataan the remaining nurses were sent to another Island, Corregidor. As Corregidor also fell, the Japanese herded the nurses into Santo Tomas internment camp. In these camps though it seemed impossible to loose more and still survive, they did. The women sacrificed privacy, and food. Where they stayed there were three toilets to 300 people, and eight people to one shower, but this was just one of the many sacrifices they had to make. Norman intensely tells of how these angels suffered years of fear and starvation living off only a glitter of hope that the day of liberation would come.
Through Norman's book the stories of the loyalty, bravery, and heroism of these nurses are told. They suffered so the wounded soldiers would not half to. They broke the barrier separating women from men, and opened once closed minds so that more opportunities could open to women. In doing all of this, these angels did not do it for glory, or for themselves like Greek heroes, they did it simply to make a difference. In the eyes of others they deserved glory, but they were modest. Nurse "Cassie" stated, "What's all the excitement about, are all of these people hanging around to see me?... I haven't done anything special."(pg231) The book makes the reader grateful for the simple things that they once thought were impossible to loose. It is a wonderful, suspenseful read that tells about nurses who demonstrated the highest level of heroism there is. The things that really went on during their brutal journey are revealed. Things that a mind can't even imagine happened to theses angels, and through it all they survived, and more importantly, never once thought of themselves before another. When closing We Band of Angels, a piece is planted into every reader's heart that will forever remind them of these true heroines that changed so many bandages, minds, and lives with their bravery, and loyalty.
Rating:
Summary: True Heroes
Review: The nurses that were trapped on Bataan in the book We Band of Angels were real life heroes. They were normal people, but under the pressures of war they performed extraordinary tasks. Unlike heroes of Greek mythology, they did not have superhuman strength or intelligence. They accomplished their tasks through sacrifice. There are many examples in the book of the nurses making sacrifices to save the lives of soldiers, which make the book realistic and interesting to read. To save the lives of many of the soldiers fighting on Bataan, the nurses sacrificed
their own health. The nurses would work hard for hours and would not get enough rest. Also, when supplies of the vaccination medicines ran low the nurses stopped taking them, and saved them for the soldiers. Doing these things caused the nurses to be vulnerable to diseases. Many nurses died from the after effects of diseases they caught like Beriberi. The nurses also only got one meal a day at times. They suffered from affects of malnutrition. Some of these affects left the nurses weakened for the rest of their lives.
The nurses even sacrificed their own lives to save the soldiers. They worked in areas where they fell victim to bombs, shrapnel and even the falling shells of their army's anti-aircraft guns. There was also always the danger of the Japanese killing or raping the nurses as they went through the nurse's hospitals, on the way to fight allied forces. The Japanese were known for committing war crimes, like they did at the Rape of Nanking. Before the Japanese invaded the last stronghold on Bataan some of the nurses were offered an escape from Bataan. Rather then going some of the nurses stayed to save the lives of the soldiers. A lot of the nurses worked so long and hard in horrible conditions, they were mentally scarred for the rest of their lives. They also lost friends or family while they were gone, and never got a chance to say goodbye. The nurses had many problems getting back to their normal lives without income due to the loss of a husband. They said it took them a long time to make up the many years they were in Bataan. The nightmares and shell shock they experienced also made it difficult to return to their normal lives. It was hard for the nurses to forget many of the tough times they went through on Bataan. This book was interesting to read because it told the story of what it's really like to be a hero. The nurses were not perfect, but they accomplished their task, and survived incredibly tough times. The book had a sense of reality that many stories of heroes do not have. The many sacrifices the nurses made make them true heroes.
Rating:
Summary: "The Battling Belles of Bataan"
Review: "The Battling Belles of Bataan"
Elizabeth M. Norman's We Band of Angels is a powerful story of a group of American Army and Navy nurses living with the horrors of World War II. At the beginning of the book, these American women lived in the tropical paradise of the Philippines. Here, they enjoyed such luxuries as swimming at the beautiful beaches, dancing, playing tennis, and taking relaxing walks through the dazzling country full of flowers. Then, on December 8, 1941, this place of peace and beauty was transformed into a fiery battlefield when the Japanese began dropping bombs on the nurses' lovely home. At this point, everything began to fall downhill for the nurses. Hundreds of casualties swarming into the hospitals every day left the women and their colleagues overwhelmed with work. From there, many nurses were transferred to the wild jungles of Bataan, where they were forced to make everything themselves, from beds to bathrooms. In the bloody days that followed, these women were confronted not only with surgery, amputations, and shrapnel wounds, but fatal diseases like malaria, and dysentery. After months of little food and strenuous work, the Americans had to surrender Bataan to the Japanese. The story turns here as the nurses who didn't manage to escape the Philippines were taken to STIC, or Santo Tomas Internment Camp. Here our brave nurses had to endure three long years of starvation, fear, and death until the long-awaited liberation. These hard-working women returned home to a nation that at first praised and celebrated them. Later, however, this same nation refused to honor the nurses' leaders with the medals that they deserved. This gripping tale is both heart-warming and heartbreaking as readers find themselves being plunged into a world of courage and sorrow.
Feminists, historians, World War II veterans, and anyone looking for an entertaining read will thoroughly enjoy this book. It is one of the better stories of a hero's journey. It perfectly displays the qualities found in a hero: self-sacrifice, modesty, and courage. The way in which Elizabeth Norman weaves the tale with colorful language and vivid descriptions is sure to capture the hearts of any reader.
One of the qualities found in many heroes is self-sacrifice. The nurses on Bataan usually worked all day and all night, continually running here and there to fetch whatever was crucial to save a life. Whether it was rolling bandages or assisting in an amputation, they always had something to do. According to Colonel Duckworth, the senior physician,
"I heard not a single complaint about long hours and I cannot recall a single instance where there was any personal grievance among the officers, nurses or enlisted men."
Food was also very scarce, and the nurses had to eat whatever they could find. Nurse Ruth Straub wrote in her diary, "The song, 'The Old Gray Mare' keeps buzzing through my head. We had horse meat for supper." On another occasion she wrote,
"Found worms in my oatmeal this morning. I shouldn't have objected because they had been sterilized in the cooking and I was getting fresh meat with my breakfast . . . I'm still losing weight and so are most of us."
The nurses also hated to take care of themselves before their patients. Chief nurse Josie Nesbit said, "It was with great reluctance that the nurses reported off duty ill. They new the need . . . to care for the hundreds of sick and wounded men."
Another quality often demonstrated by heroes is modesty. At the end of the novel, many of the nurses returned to their homes in America. Here they were shocked to find mobs of people and reporters, all hanging on their every word. But they were confused. Why were all of these people praising them? Nurse Helen Cassiani found a group of reporters all waiting to talk to her as she stepped off the plane. She said to herself, "Hey, what's all the excitement about? Are all these people hanging around to see me? . . . . I haven't done anything special." Nurse Eleanor Garen attended many interviews that led to three articles that were posted in the Tribune. She often said things like,
"I've heard they call us 'the Angels of Bataan'. The only angels of Bataan are the angels in Bataan, those wonderful boys who fought and died there. The angels of
Bataan are still there." Probably one of the most common qualities related to a hero is courage. Throughout the strenuous and horror filled times of war, these women had to face things that would make anyone grimace in displeasure. There were countless wounded and ill soldiers with horrific maladies, and buckets of human blood and amputated limbs. They also had to brave the frequent air raids with shells and shrapnel falling everywhere. In her diary, Ruth Straub wrote about her experience with the many air raids.
"They got us out of bed at sunrise. More dogfighting overhead. Our main danger- Oh, just as I was writing, the Japs dropped bombs nearby. Much more of this and we'll all be nervous wrecks. To continue, our main danger is shrapnel from our own antiaircraft. Yesterday, a piece went through a mattress. Fortunately, the patient had just left his bed . . . . Here they come again. Whew! Where is all the bravery I thought I possessed."
Through all of these hardships the Battling Belles of Bataan continued to keep a firm chin and patience for the victory they wanted so badly.
Over all, the book is thoroughly enjoyable. The language and the intense setting
are enough to keep any reader's eyes glued to the pages. The reader becomes attached to the many characters that they get to know so well. They feel the nurses' pain and laugh at the good humor that endured through bad times. The heroic qualities displayed throughout the story (self-sacrifice, modesty, and courage) help people to truly understand what life in war is really like.
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Summary: Review for We Band of Angels
Review: We Band of Angels by Elizabeth M. Norman is a true story about American nurses trapped on the Philippine islands by the Japanese. The story is based in the 1940's right after Pearl Harbor. The author tells the tales of many nurses in the Philippines at that time. Dr. Norman does a wonderful job conveying the true individual tales of the nurses. The book contains information about the life the nurses endured that is very personal, not just the information printed in newspapers all over the country at that time. The characteristics that made them heroes were different than the characteristics found in Greek Mythology heroes, hundreds of years ago. Our ideas of a hero have changed over the years. We Band of Angels is full of recent heroes, and is recommended to anyone interested in a touching tale of real women who fought for their life, and the lives of others.
The author focuses mostly on Helen "Cassie" Cassiani, a navy nurse. The author says that she was "most comfortable with Cassie. [She'd] seen her often." (Pg. 261) In talking with Cassie the author was able to get a more full story of what happened. The reader feels at times that Cassie, herself, is telling the story of her experiences. The author also added pictures taken at some of the important events. The reader can see the events and people there in these pictures. Emotions that the nurses are feeling can be taken from the pictures to help the reader better understand the story of the "battling belles of Bataan", the heroic nurses.
At the beginning of the book the author sets up the story by describing how it was before the war. She describes the hospital in Manila in detail: "The nurses' quarters, elysian rooms with shell-filled windowpanes, bamboo and wicker furniture with plush cushions, and mahogany ceiling fans gently turning in the tropical air." (Pg. 4) This helps show the contrast to the later living quarters of the nurses. After Pearl Harbor, the Japanese attacked the Philippines. They bombed the island and then raided it. Troops came in and took over most of the Philippines. Manila declared itself neutral and the nurses had to leave and go to Bataan, a small peninsula across Manila Bay from Manila. Bataan was an untamed jungle. They set up two hospitals to take care of the hundreds of casualties coming in from the battlefront. At hospital #2 "There were seventeen wards, each with between two hundred and five hundred patients - bed after bed after bed, spread out on the jungle floor in the open under a canopy of branches and vines, literally as far as the eye could see." (Pg. 58) After Bataan fell to the Japanese troops the nurses were moved to the small island of Corregidor, at the mouth of Manila Bay. They lived and worked in a complex series of tunnels called the Malinta Tunnel. "Malinta Tunnel was so well built, the hospital staff could continue to work during raids, interrupted by the muffled thuds of bombs and shells landing above." (Pg. 97) After Malinta Tunnel fell to the Japanese, the Americans were finally conquered. The troops were sent to prison camps, and the nurses were eventually sent to an internment camp. They went to the interment camp of Santo Tomas. The nurses were behind "iron fence[s] and high walls, now topped with barbed wire." (Pg. 143) The book continues with their struggles of surviving the many hardships of the internment camp. They had to fight malnutrition, cruel treatment from the Japanese, and the sometimes-unbearable sense of not being free.
The Army and Navy nurses were heroes to their patients, each other and the citizens of the United States, who anxiously awaited more information on their whereabouts and happenings. Having so many heroes makes the book appealing to its audience. The nurses showed their heroism by putting their patients' health and safety ahead of their own. As they were being hurried out of Bataan to go to the safer Malinta Tunnel, "some of the women wanted more time to discuss the details about [their] patients...to leave instructions about those [they] were worried about." (Pg. 86) They also say that one of the toughest things they ever had to do was walk away from the patients they left in Bataan, but they had to obey orders. The nurses also showed their heroism when they didn't give up their work. Throughout the stress of the jungle hospitals, Malinta Tunnel, and the internment camp, they never stopped doing their jobs. When surviving seemed unbearable, they would still work. They said, "work was the best antidote" (Pg. 149) when times were tough. The nurses were heroes; they kept their heads as bombs fell all around them, in order to save the lives of others.
The characteristics of the nurses that made them heroes were their perseverance, and their selflessness. In Greek mythology, a hero was someone strong (muscular in appearance), witty, and powerful in his or her actions. This shows that the Greeks valued beauty and brains. Today, beauty is not as important in a hero. Actions are much more important qualities in the making of a hero today. Heroes today, such as former political leaders, became heroes because of the things they did, not how they looked, or how much they could do physically. Heroes hundreds of years ago were very different from the heroes today.
We Band of Angels is an uplifting and powerful story, telling the unknown stories of the Army and Navy nurses in the Philippines. Elizabeth M. Norman uses such detail, and shows such knowledge of that time that readers are hooked on the tale. The stories of the heroes show the true meaning of a hero today. This book is recommended to anyone who believes in heroes.
Rating:
Summary: They will always be Angels
Review: A Viet Nam era Navy nurse had this book at work and I asked to read it. I had to get in line. The wait was worth it. Soon all these brave, wonderful, unassuming women will be gone. Their story will not.Thank you Ms. Norman. This book made me laugh and it made me cry along with them.I recomend this book to any one who thinks wars are fought by men only.
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Summary: daughter of bataan survivor
Review: This book was truly inspirational. As a nurse, the heroics of these women was beyond belief. As a woman, I appreciate and praise their strength and courage under such terrible conditions. As the daughter of a Bataan "death march" survivor, most of my life I have been aware of the extreme and inhuman conditions that military men had endured. But until I read this book, I did not know there were women in that area as well. I am so grateful Elizabeth Norman was once again willing and so wonderfully able to share women's lives, contributions, and experiences with us.
Rating:
Summary: Haunting, wonderful, provocative!
Review: Thank you, Dr. Beth Norman, for the chance to revisit those inspiring, terrible days. Setting as contrast, the back drop of pre-Pearl Harbor Manila made this chronical all the more compelling. Lest we ever forget, may more writers like Beth Norman set us straight about the place women (and in particular nurses) have played in our history. As I sat and read , in the quietude of my suburban home, I was haunted by the spirits of those brave women from not so very long ago who helped to make my world as I know it possible. As a nurse, I am awed by the bravery of my professional sisters.
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