I am writing this sixty years after World War II. While memory sometimes fails me; much of this seems like yesterday.

I was a young nurse who knew she had the qualifications to be of help; and like a great number of my friends enlisted. My years in nursing hardened me for almost any situation. I had just finished college majoring in Psychology and Applied Nursing. At the hospital where I worked in Ohio, the medical residents had been told that if they spent a year in the armed forces, they could return and begin a practice. Two that I knew were captured by the Japanese and ended up in the Bataan Death March. Only one returned.

I went to enlist with a friend who did not pass the physical; having a kidney that was of small size and non-functioning. I was sent by train to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training. There had been terrific storms and I was on the last train into the area. The rails were being submerged and many homes were under water.

This became a very busy time, being measured for uniforms, fitted for shoes, etc. I had never liked tailored clothes; but became very comfortable and proud in the uniform of the U.S.A. Nurse Corps. The shoes were something that I thought I would never want to wear; but when I left the Army I bought four pair, they were so comfortable.

Fort Knox was an old establishment, a maze of wooden structures. Our basic training was similar to that of the regular GIs. We learned to march. I am both left handed and footed; so I always got special attention. We climbed ropes going over a wooden structure and then back down the other side. I was not exceptional in this either. We crawled on the ground with real ammunition flying overhead. We were instructed in the danger of gas warfare and learned to put on a gas mask while in a room with chlorine gas. We had map reading classes. I am sure I flunked the exam; but the 2nd lieutenant in charge felt that I was really trying and I think he was also glad to pass me and get me out of his hair.

We had German prisoners in the wards who were very helpful and also eager to learn the English language. They were contained in a secure area and would do a lot of screaming and yelling if we happened to pass by. This was entirely different from the Japanese prisoners who were silent and would look the other way.

While I was at Fort Knox, I met a very nice nurse from Warren, Ohio and we became very friendly. I was from Youngstown, Ohio, only a few miles from Warren. I had never been any further than Cleveland; as we never had a car. We went everywhere by Trolley, bus or train. My father worked on the railroad and we had passes for rail travel; but I think my mother would never think of going to a big city alone. The country at this time was gradually coming out of the depression and Youngstown had been hit very hard as it was mostly a steel town. The men working in mills had been getting only about two days a month work.

Fort Knox was a tank training center and I will never forget that they had only trucks with large signs “this is a tank!”. This was far from good practice for overseas fighting. We had not been preparing for war like the Germans and the Japanese; and what little equipment we had went overseas. Much of our air and sea power was destroyed at Pearl Harbor and Clark field in the Philippines. Within hours of striking Hawaii; the Japanese destroyed American planes like sitting ducks at Clark Field. Through lack of communication with the high command they had not been removed from danger. No one ever thought the Japanese would attempt to attack the United States.

Another thing I would like to mention is the lack of privacy one found in the Army. It took me quite a while to get the courage to shower with 50 people. The semi-private rooms in nursing training had not prepared me for the Army.

We finally got our assignments. My friend and I were sent to the Newton D. Baker Army Hospital in Maryland. I was “the lucky one” to begin work in the most mentally disturbed section. I had never had training in mental health care and this was certainly a challenge. You had to be on the alert every minute.

I recall one particular soldier that had returned from the ETO (European Theater of Operations). He was shackled to the bed in a padded cell and I was feeding him. He looked like an athlete in the prime of life. He said I was pretty; but if he could get loose he would kill me. I certainly didn’t doubt him and made sure I could make a safe exit.

I noticed after reading some of the past histories of the patients that they should never have been in the Army. They were probably products of some very zealous draft boards. We had some who were catatonic and would stand for hours; and then without saying a word, make a violent spring for their bed which would immediately collapse as they consisted of only three pieces, each fitting into a slot. One of these patients had been in the ETO and had been assigned to burying the dead.

In order to calm them, a number of patients were put in a tub of warm water covered with canvas with only their head exposed. They had to be watched carefully as they would try to commit suicide by slipping under the water. One told me a very sad story about the Japanese pulling out his fingernails. You could almost believe him; but he had never been overseas or near a Japanese. Another built a bonfire in the middle of a wooden barracks in Germany. None were coherent enough for conversation except one who could talk only foul language when he saw a girl. Everything in the ward was bolted to the floor, tables, chairs, desks; anything that could be used as a weapon. They were not given utensils such as we would use for eating. What tragedies war can cause!

My friends, for the most part, were taking care of paraplegics who were being shown how to make simple crafts. The muscles of their legs would atrophy very quickly after injury. They were sometimes able to carry on a pleasant conversation, although I certainly realized their depression. Here again a waste of young life.

My friends were being called for overseas duty; but my name never seemed to be on the roster. After waiting, I was finally called to the office of the colonel. She said they desperately needed psychiatric nurses and I would immediately get a 1st Lieutenant’s rating if I would stay. They felt my degree in Psychology would be a help in coping with the mental patients. I was finally able to persuade them I was most unhappy and was finally put on the list for overseas. I was with a large contingent of nurses headed by train to California.

We stayed at several Army camps en route but I cannot remember the names. One camp I will never forget. It had always been used for men and again showering was a challenge as it would about 50 girls showering at a time. There was also something done there that I thought would be very useful on the home front. We were awakened at 6 AM by the loudest martial music I had ever heard. You jumped out of bed and felt like dancing.

My friend from Warren, Ohio was on the same overseas list and we enjoyed the trip to the coast together. We arrived at a camp in California, the name of which I cannot remember; but I do know it was near the site of the first gold found in California. We had a chance to eat at a Chinese restaurant. If I ever get back there, instead of gold, I will look for that restaurant. It was super. Perhaps it seemed even better after experiencing Army food.

We again had physicals and were given our overseas clothing which included heavy underwear, as they wanted any spies to think we were headed for the ETO or Alaska.

We watched the soldiers leaving for overseas. They marched very quietly; probably burdened with thoughts of what was ahead. The nurses seemed to act quite differently. We had a purse over our shoulder and across our chest a G I issue cosmetic case. And along with their heavy equipment, pup tent etc; some carried teddy bears on their backs.

The doctors seemed to be a motley crew; never did seem to get the hang of marching. Some specialists such as OB or pediatric physicians wondered why they were drafted.

I believe our port of embarkation was Santa Rosa. My friend mentioned to me that she did not have her monthly period which I assumed was the result of the numerous changes in our daily schedules. We did not mention it again.

We were assigned to the “Marigold”, a hospital ship taking medical staff and a large contingent of soldiers. We were told that our government notified the Japanese that we were a hospital ship and ere not bearing arms. We remained well lighted for the entire trip. The merchant marines were piloting the ship and they explained much about the workings of the ship; showing us the engine room and giving other facts about the ship and its course of travel. They said that when they got into a dangerous area they received extra pay.

At this time they must have assumed that I was a mountain goat as I was given the upper (fourth tier) bunk next to the ceiling. For some reason I slept very well and was not aware that parties were going on almost continually on the main deck. The noise of the engines kept me unaware of any activities in the lower bunks.

The trip was exciting; being the first time on the high seas and not knowing whether the journey would be a safe one. I seemed to feel at that time that I had a satisfying life and did not seem to fear what lay ahead. Many of my friends did not feel that way.

To my pleasant surprise we stopped in Hawaii. We had a tour of the island and watched the native dancing girls. We were not taken anywhere near Pearl Harbor where many of our ships lay in ruin. This I did not quite understand.

Our destination was unknown to us; but our guess was Manila, the Pearl of the Pacific. I tried hard to remember my history books on the region and Admiral Dewey. My information was limited. How I wished I had been a history buff.

We arrived in Manila and were met by a female major ho was not very cheerful and certainly didn’t welcome us. She said something about dropping us in Manila Bay. We learned the source of her anger. Several nurses had gotten into narcotics, several had contracted venereal disease, and others were accused of conduct not befitting an officer of the US Army. Concerning drugs; it was a shock to me, for at that time the only drug that caused problems was Phenobarbital. It was habit forming but rarely gave us difficulty. I am sure morphine and codeine were a concern for patients with great pain or chronic illnesses. They could become addicted if given these drugs for a long period of time. Manila, after all the bombardment, was not a city of beauty, gardenias and orchids. It was one pot hole after another because of the fierce fighting that had one on as the Americans again took the area. We were taken to a monastery which had been headquarters for some of the Japanese. The monks were long gone. I believe the survivors were interned in Santa Tomas University which had become an armed prison. The cemetery on the grounds of the monastery had been devastated; with coffins and their contents partly out of their resting places.

The first night was something to remember. With no lights, we set up our cots. Sheets and pillow cases were never given a thought in an army at war. The monastery had been taken over by a type of lizard similar to a small iguana which soon invaded our cots. A lot of screaming was heard throughout the night as we could not see them as they attacked us. I think we were all delighted to find that we were given our assignment the next day.

I was put on a cargo plane with about 25 other nurses and headed for the island of Mindora. I had never been in a plane before and didn’t have time to be worried about it.

The Lieutenant in charge had not seen an American woman in three years. He asked to see me the following night. My main interest was the fact that he was in charge of the mail coming from the states. We talked a lot about what had happened in the war as the Americans had a plan of skipping some of the islands held by the Japanese and taking only the ones which would help bring a quicker end to the war.

Mindora was truly in the jungle with nothing but a makeshift airstrip. A long row of beds exposed to the outdoors with only a canvas roof overhead. We did however have nets around the beds to keep out the mosquitoes. This did not keep the spider monkeys from getting in. Every kind of lizard and bug seemed to have found a home in Mindora. One watched for snakes, sometimes in the trees.

Malaria was prevalent and everyone took atabrine. This did not prevent getting the illness; but it would mask the severe chills and fever which would make a soldier incapable of defending himself. You could almost tell how long everyone had been in this theater by the dark yellow of their skin; the result of taking atabrine. Quinine, also effective against malaria, was not available as the Japanese controlled the area in which it was grown. The mosquitoes (called plasmodium anopheline) carries the parasite which causes malaria and are found where there is plenty of moisture and water.

Our patients were mostly suffering from dengue fever, jungle rot, gangrene, malaria and dysentery. This last was endemic. We got used to working in the jungle and having the monkeys watching us from the trees. Talk about crime; the monkeys would steal anything. With frequent rains in the area, we would on some occasions work in our swim suits.

At first we had a large tent for sleeping that must have been left over from World War I. It leaked so much that we used our helmets to catch the water. The helmet was a wonderful invention. For quite sometime it was our way of taking a bath.

Most of us could not improve our appearance too much. Some, like myself, found only a box of starch left in our footlocker when we arrived in Mindora. There was a thriving black market in Manila and many footlockers were opened and their contents taken. Both Philippinos and American Soldiers were suspected. I have a feeling that we had a number of thieves that either enlisted or were drafted. An expensive camera left with the hair preparations and cosmetics was a prize that would bring a good price on the black market.

The native Philippinos would come to the Army kitchens for food. They had been treated very harshly by their Japanese captors. Some of the Japanese fled to the mountains when the American Army returned. Starving, they would pose as local peasants in the food line; but were easily picked out by the type of shoes they wore.

The first night we were in Mindora, our doctors were operating on three Japanese soldiers who were in serious condition. Most of the nurses would rather see them unattended; but I felt that if I were captured maybe someone would show a little compassion. We had a few prisoners in the ward; but we were careful to say only a few words. Our soldiers were watching closely and bitterly resented them.

The Japanese soldiers were told that if they surrendered they would be killed. Many committed hari kari or killed themselves with a grenade. A reconnaissance soldier for the American general said he witnessed a large group of the enemy leaping off a cliff to avoid capture and disgrace. According to their religion accepting death offered eternal happiness. Many years later Japanese were still found in the mountains. They did not believe the war was over and felt they couldn’t go home in disgrace.

We were startled one day to see a dozen tribesmen from the mountains coming single file, carrying spears, with only loin clothes for covering. They never came near us, but I understood they came to obtain salt for cooking and food preservation. We were also told that Japanese going into their area rarely returned.

We were finally moved out of our leaky tent and into huts that looked like a basket weave. They were not very big but sensible. All of the insects followed us to our new quarters. If one was trying to sleep the ants would start marching up and into our cots. When they started biting we would get up; shake them off the cot and ourselves and go back to sleep. I fared better than most as I had spent two summers at Duke in North Carolina and we had many friendly cockroaches in our rooms.

In the tropics, if you received a food package from home it would have to be placed on top of a table in a container of water. The ants could not go through the water; but would spend a long time trying to find a way to get across.

Mentioning packages and mail; I will again refer to the Lieutenant who asked for a date when we arrived on the island. He had been in the thick of the fighting for three years and had not come in contact with an American woman. We came to an understanding and I comprehended his problem. That evening ended in a friendly fashion and I always got my mail in time.

To be a woman in the Philippines meant you did not have to be attractive, just there. This I am sure pleased many girls who had rarely dated in the states. There were a number of marriages and I wondered if they had a future. The outfits for the weddings were usually made of parachute material.

Many years later, I met a nurse who had been permanently on a hospital ship. When we dated a doctor or other officer; they were required to carry a pistol as some Japanese were still in the area. I asked if she went out in Manila. She said “No, you never knew what the doctors would do to you”. I explained that we were fighting the Japanese; not American doctors. She was an exception as most nurses appreciated a chance to leave the ship. She remained a spinster all of her life.

The Army through their officers tried to find female companions for the soldiers. I don’t know whether the problem of sex was taken care of in the Army Manual of Operations; but the individual officer in charge had his own ideas. To keep the men away from the villages and possibly getting in trouble; arrangements were made to have an area set aside to have local girls camp. This occurred a number of times and seemed to be successful. Frequently in a very religious family, dating a girl meant taking the mother along.

Returning to my quarters after duty one day I was told that my friend who had come over with me from the states was pregnant and was sent home to Letterman General Hospital in San Francisco. The Army would notify the family that their daughter was in the hospital; but never gave a reason. She had a girl that was adopted. Again I am not sure the procedure is in the Army Manual.

The days became routine and now everyone was thinking of the invasion of Japan. We had received many soldiers from the ETO and naturally they were very unhappy. What they had to go through in Europe was hard and now they would face another invasion.

I received orders for R&R (rest and recreation). I was invited to go on a PT boat to Cullion, the largest leprosarium in the world. My only information on leprosy or Hanson’s disease came from the bible. It was sad to see these people, some with no fingers, noses, or with severe leg problems. We were told that to contract leprosy you had to have sexual relations and close contact for many years. At that time they were not permitted to have their children with them. Until the war they were cared for by the US government. The Japanese would not go near them and they were isolated on their little island. They had their own money; but I did not feel I wanted to buy any. Later I found we had a leprosarium in Louisiana which has now been closed.

I met an officer from the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) which has since been disbanded. Among their duties were guarding the President; but in World War II many of them were spies. He said he and a companion made their way to Cullion by being put in boxes and covered with night soil to escape the Japanese guards. They used straws to breathe.

A few of us were sent to Batangus, a port town not far from Manila. This was quite different from the jungle where we had been. The natives seemed to have at least a caribou to help them with the rice. Their houses were built of the basket weave type of construction. The first floor was used only to house their animals. A ladder went to the little house above.

Any free time we had was usually spent in our area. If we had a date, travel was very limited as Japanese stragglers were in the hills. Your method of transportation depended on the rank of the officer. A general got a command car, a captain a large truck. I never did find out who got the jeeps from the motor pool. Some of the natives opened their small homes for soft drinks and the chance to make a little money. The glasses for the beverages were made from coke bottles. They occasionally had movies; watched many times while sitting in the rain. I did learn a lesson in “chug a lug” which I would never do again. The Army, I would say, fought hard and played hard.

On occasion we were invited to have dinner on board ships. This was a pleasure because they had refrigeration; something the Army lacked. Many goodies were produced to eat. To get aboard ship you went up a rope net hung over the side. Your weight would cause the net to cling to the side of the ship and it would be hard to keep your hold on the ropes.

One of my friends was trying to climb just ahead of me. She said “I can’t hold on.” I said “keep going, don’t fall on me.” She went a little further and said “I’m frightened. I’ve just wet my pants!” I told her to keep going and I would help. She finally made it and we were greeted by the Captain. We acted like Siamese twins for the rest of the evening as I stayed right behind her. I think we were both glad to say our “Thank you’s” and leave. It was not funny at the time; but we had many laughs after it was over.

There was still fierce fighting in Baguio, a southern town of Luzon. General Yamashita was still trying to continue even though it looked as if the Japanese war effort was doomed. He was finally conquered and brought to Manila. We had the opportunity to go there but I for one did not want to see anyone that would soon be executed.

On our visits to Manila, we had the opportunity to talk with some of those imprisoned by the Japanese in Santa Tomas University. It was founded by the Spanish priests in 1611 on an area of 60 acres. It had high walls and iron gates. About 3800 were imprisoned there; British, Dutch, Polish, French and Americans. When liberated they were starving. The nurses who had been interned there had been released and sent back to the states.

We knew by all the activity that the invasion of Japan would begin soon. There were acres of tanks, jeeps, trucks, and other equipment all ready for the invasion. We also knew that the Japanese would fight to the death and thousands of Americans would lose their lives.

Suddenly we heard about the atomic bomb and the destruction of two Japanese cities. Then the Japanese surrender!

Everyone was anxious to return home and leave the islands of bamboo, mosquitoes and the poverty. A great deal of equipment was left in the islands because if the excessive cost of bringing it home. One of the things I will never forget about the islands were the beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

We were given orders to board the USS West Point whish had been known as “The America” when it was a cruise ship before the war. It was a size that could just get through the Panama Canal. I believe that we went up the west coast of South America and then through the Canal and north to New York. The ship was very crowded and filled with many very happy people. However there were also a sizable number being brought back to Army prisons. There were GI’s jailed for murder, arson, theft, and other criminal acts.

Coming back made me feel that we had almost too much of the wealth and comfort in our world after seeing the poverty of the natives in the Philippines. However, it was a thrill to see the Statue of Liberty and the welcoming crowds in New York as they awaited the docking of the ship. There were streams of water everywhere in welcome.

We were discharged in New Jersey and returned home. It was an experience I will never forget and have to say “I am proud to be an American.”

By Katherine Denegar

To see a list of library books and movies about WWII, click on the following links:
WWII in Books and Film
Books for Children and Young Adults