Pure Grit: How American World War II Nurses Survived Battle and Prison Camp in the Pacific

Description

In the early 1940s, young women enlisted for peacetime duty as U.S. Army nurses. But when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 blasted the United States into World War II, 101 American Army and Navy nurses serving in the Philippines were suddenly treating wounded and dying soldiers while bombs exploded all around them. The women served in jerry-rigged jungle hospitals on the Bataan Peninsula and in underground tunnels on Corregidor Island. Later, when most of them were captured by the Japanese as prisoners of war, they suffered disease and near-starvation for three years. Pure Grit is a story of sisterhood and suffering, of tragedy and betrayal, of death and life. The women cared for one another, maintained discipline, and honored their vocation to nurse anyone in need—all 101 coming home alive. The book is illustrated with archival photographs and includes an index, glossary, and timeline. Praise for Pure Grit STARRED REVIEW "Details of many nurses’ individual trials combine to form a memorable portrayal of their shared experience, one which will emotionally impact readers." --Booklist, starred review "Primary source materials, especially the movingly matter-of-fact recollections of several of the nurses and personal snapshots, bring the story to life." --Kirkus Reviews "Farrell doesn’t spare her young readers any grim details . . . She includes the challenges these women faced and the joy they felt on returning home. As awful as history can be, now might be the right time to introduce the next generation to this important period." --The Washington Post "In addition to photographs and helpful maps, the page layouts include facsimiles of the nurses’ letters and diaries. Young readers who enjoyed Tanya Lee Stone’s Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream will also appreciate this story of courageous women whose story was nearly forgotten." --School Library Journal

Get the book

Amazon.com

Search the book

eBay.com

Search the book

Other editions

• 

  Pure Grit: How American World War II Nurses Survived Battle...

  • 2014-02-25
  • - pages
  • Paperback
  • Harry N. Abrams
• 

  Pure Grit

  • 2009-06-25
  • 200 pages
  • Paperback
  • Author House

Similar books

• 

  Pure Grit: Stories of Remarkable People Living with Physical Disability

  By Lily Collison, Kara Buckley

  These are not stories of people overcoming disability -- they're stories of people accommodating disability while pursuing their dreams. Pure Grit shines a light on boundless possibility whatever the individual challenge."--Back cover

• 

  Pure Grit

  By Paddy Doyle

  Pure Grit describes how Paddy Doyle came from a poor background, and a life of juvenile crime.

• 

  Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

  By Angela Duckworth

  This is “a fascinating tour of the psychological research on success” (The Wall Street Journal).

• 

  True Grit: A Novel

  By Charles Portis

  True Grit: A Novel

• 

  Pure Heart: A Spirited Tale of Grace, Grit, and Whiskey

  By Bret Witter, Troylyn Ball

  This is the heart of moonshine country, where they practice an art passed down from generation to generation, crafted not only out of pride and ingenuity, but also out of a daring to push the boundaries of the law to create a product that ...

• 

  True Grit and Grace: Turning Tragedy Into Triumph

  By Amberly Lago

  "True Grit and Grace is the true story of how Amberly Lago's life was forever altered by a devastating motorcycle accident, and the victory she discovered through her recovery.

• 

  The Dog of the South

  By Charles Portis

  His wife, Norma, has run off with her ex-husband, taking Ray's cards, shotgun and car.

• 

  Gringos

  By Charles Portis

  Jimmy Burns is an expatriate American living in Mexico who has an uncommonly astute eye for the absurd little details that comprise your average American.

• 

  The Last Cowboys: A Pioneer Family in the New West

  By John Branch

  "A can't-put-it-down modern Western." —Kirk Siegler, NPR Longlisted for the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing The Last Cowboys is Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter John Branch’s epic tale of one American family struggling to hold ...

• 

  This Land Is Our Land: A History of American Immigration

  By Linda Barrett Osborne

  We are paid 20 cents a crate for every crate we finish. Today I finish 10 crates only, so I made $2.00 exactly. . . . The women are all pieceworkers, especially the spinach cutters. The women who have been working in the cannery every ...