We Band of Angels
The American nurses trapped on Bataan and Corregidor — the first large group of US women in combat, then three years as POWs.
The Verdict
When Bataan and Corregidor fell, dozens of American military nurses fell with them — and Elizabeth Norman tells the story almost no one knows. These women ran jungle hospitals under shellfire, kept operating as the perimeter collapsed, and then endured three years of internment as prisoners of the Japanese, and remarkably, every one of them came home. The 'Angels of Bataan' were the first large group of American women to live through sustained combat and captivity, and Norman restores their ordeal and their competence with care and quiet anger. A genuine gap in the record, filled.
Who Should Read It
Read it if you want
- American military women in combat and captivity
- A hidden chapter recovered
- The Philippines siege from the hospital wards
- Endurance and professionalism under occupation
Look elsewhere if you want
- Combat tactics or command narrative
- The broader Pacific strategy
- A male front-line account
Why We Rated It 4.4
Historical Context
We Band of Angels (1999) recounts the American Army and Navy nurses trapped on Bataan and Corregidor in 1942, who continued nursing under fire and then survived years of Japanese internment — the 'Angels of Bataan.' They were among the first large groups of US women to endure combat conditions and captivity.
Events Covered
Read It Alongside
Where to Buy
ISBN: 978-0812984484
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Who were the Angels of Bataan?
- American military nurses caught in the fall of the Philippines who ran field hospitals under fire and then survived years as prisoners of war, all of them returning home.
- Is the book based on the nurses' own accounts?
- Yes — Norman drew on the survivors' testimony and records to reconstruct their experience.