And If I Perish : Frontline U.S. Army Nurses in World War II

Rating:
Summary: What I didn't know filled a book.
Review: Outstanding book!
Monahan & Neidel-Greenlee tell these women's story of their personal experience in the context of the overall military background and situation at the time. Compelling reading, educates, informs, entertains and raises a profound sense of awareness of the Army Nurse Corps in WWII.
A great read and now I must read their other books!

Rating:
Summary: Five Star Heroineism and Heroism
Review: This book is beautiful. This oral history for the Army Nurse Corps in Europe during WWII is an inspiring volume that left me wondering how anyone could do what they did, and still remain humble and say "I was just doing my duty." These nurses went into a desperate environment short of supplies, short of respect, and short of hope. They turned this situation into an epic tale of the victory of decency over despondency, and how strain can sometimes bring out the best we have. In the midst of the terrors and desperation of war, the individual miracles and the mystery of human goodness and compassion are still overwhelming. May we be thankful for nurses such as the ones in this book, and may we be thankful that authors like this can tell their exemplary stories.

Rating:
Summary: Five Star Heroineism and Heroism
Review: This book is beautiful. This oral history for the Army Nurse Corps in Europe during WWII is an inspiring volume that left me wondering how anyone could do what they did, and still remain humble and say "I was just doing my duty." These nurses went into a desperate environment short of supplies, short of respect, and short of hope. They turned this situation into an epic tale of the victory of decency over despondency, and how strain can sometimes bring out the best we have. In the midst of the terrors and desperation of war, the individual miracles and the mystery of human goodness and compassion are still overwhelming. May we be thankful for nurses such as the ones in this book, and may we be thankful that authors like this can tell their exemplary stories.

Rating:
Summary: I Learned So Much More About WW II and the Nursing Professio
Review: This book looks at the European theater of World War II from the prospective
of Army nurses and the hospitals that followed not far behind and sometimes
along with the fighting soldiers. I do not know exactly why but I learned so
much about World War II that I did not know before. Perhaps it is because I
identified with the hospital and medical environment. I spent my whole
career working in hospital maintenance and operations. I came to admire nurses
in the Veterans Administration Medical Centers for their knowledge and resorcefulness
and common sense. After reading this book, my admiration for the nursing profession
has increased even more. The book follows the lives of several nurses and also gives
a very enlightning overview of the whole war. The book is based on
completely footnoted research. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in history
or the medical and nursing profession. This book provides recognition for the vital
and very dangerous part nurses contributed to our winning World War II.

Rating:
Summary: I Learned So Much More About WW II and the Nursing Professio
Review: This book looks at the European theater of World War II from the prospective
of Army nurses and the hospitals that followed not far behind and sometimes
along with the fighting soldiers. I do not know exactly why but I learned so
much about World War II that I did not know before. Perhaps it is because I
identified with the hospital and medical environment. I spent my whole
career working in hospital maintenance and operations. I came to admire nurses
in the Veterans Administration Medical Centers for their knowledge and resorcefulness
and common sense. After reading this book, my admiration for the nursing profession
has increased even more. The book follows the lives of several nurses and also gives
a very enlightning overview of the whole war. The book is based on
completely footnoted research. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in history
or the medical and nursing profession. This book provides recognition for the vital
and very dangerous part nurses contributed to our winning World War II.

Rating:
Summary: A Long Overdue Tribute to WWII Nurses
Review: This is an extremely well written and interesting book, covering a part of America's World War II history which has been sadly neglected. Almost half of the 59,000 female nurses who volunteered for the US Armed Forces during WWII served overseas. During the course of the conflict approximately 1600 of these nurses were decorated for their actions, receiving Distinguished Service Medals, Silver and Bronze Stars and Purple Hearts, among other awards. More than 70 of these nurses were captured and 217 died of injuries and illness, 16 as the result of enemy action. The authors spent over a decade tracking down surviving nurses and their friends and families in order to compile this well documented, personal and most entertaining book. Several of the key figures are followed from their recruitment before and during the early stages of the war throughout the entire North African and European campaigns. The rich detail and often tragic first-person accounts of landing with the Allies, particularly in North Africa, and the hard learned lessons of American unpreparedness for war are told with stark straight forwardness by those who participated. The authors have professionally woven in the larger strategic backdrop, along with significant tactical explanations, in a manner that tells the reader how the nurses and their various hospitals fit into the bigger scheme of the war. The nurses come alive through their narration, putting a very human face on horrific living and working conditions as their units keep close to the combatants. The portion of the book dealing with the nurses' struggles on the Anzio beachhead brings into sharp focus their absolute dedication to their profession under the most extreme of circumstances. This book is exceptionally well researched, with numbers and types of casualties treated in the various theaters of war routinely given, clearly putting emphasis to the great magnitude of what was being accomplished. A number of excellent photographs throughout the text show quite graphically the dangers of front line nursing and hospitals, the faces of the primary narrators and the environments in which they labored. This book will be a wonderful companion to the other great histories of WWII and is highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A Long Overdue Tribute to WWII Nurses
Review: This is an extremely well written and interesting book, covering a part of America's World War II history which has been sadly neglected. Almost half of the 59,000 female nurses who volunteered for the US Armed Forces during WWII served overseas. During the course of the conflict approximately 1600 of these nurses were decorated for their actions, receiving Distinguished Service Medals, Silver and Bronze Stars and Purple Hearts, among other awards. More than 70 of these nurses were captured and 217 died of injuries and illness, 16 as the result of enemy action. The authors spent over a decade tracking down surviving nurses and their friends and families in order to compile this well documented, personal and most entertaining book. Several of the key figures are followed from their recruitment before and during the early stages of the war throughout the entire North African and European campaigns. The rich detail and often tragic first-person accounts of landing with the Allies, particularly in North Africa, and the hard learned lessons of American unpreparedness for war are told with stark straight forwardness by those who participated. The authors have professionally woven in the larger strategic backdrop, along with significant tactical explanations, in a manner that tells the reader how the nurses and their various hospitals fit into the bigger scheme of the war. The nurses come alive through their narration, putting a very human face on horrific living and working conditions as their units keep close to the combatants. The portion of the book dealing with the nurses' struggles on the Anzio beachhead brings into sharp focus their absolute dedication to their profession under the most extreme of circumstances. This book is exceptionally well researched, with numbers and types of casualties treated in the various theaters of war routinely given, clearly putting emphasis to the great magnitude of what was being accomplished. A number of excellent photographs throughout the text show quite graphically the dangers of front line nursing and hospitals, the faces of the primary narrators and the environments in which they labored. This book will be a wonderful companion to the other great histories of WWII and is highly recommended.