Take a photo of a barcode or cover
20 reviews for:
Pure Grit: How American World War II Nurses Survived Battle and Prison Camp in the Pacific
Mary Cronk Farrell
4.14 AVERAGE
20 reviews for:
Pure Grit: How American World War II Nurses Survived Battle and Prison Camp in the Pacific
Mary Cronk Farrell
4.14 AVERAGE
This was a Goodreads advance copy. According to the cover it was written for young readers. Each chapter is short and easy to understand. The author does not sugar coat the descriptions of what these nurses went through as POWs. However their stories are told in a tactful way. Also the hardships they faced after the war are addressed. This text does honor to these women and should be an informative and compelling read for teenage school children.
This was an engaging, well-researched look at a little-known part of history. These ladies were tough! I think the post-war chapter about how little care these women received is especially heartbreaking and might be especially resonant to read now, when stories about mental health services for veterans are in the news pretty often (although the US definitely still has a lot of work to do on that front, at least we've moved forward from a doctor telling a nurse who has spent 3 years in a POW camp "well, there's nothing wrong with your appetite!" ... we have, right?)
I did kind of wish the book had maybe followed a few nurses in particular rather than snippets about so many of them, but I understand there are very little records to go on here, and of course it does feel right to honor as many of these heroic nurses as possible. Maybe what I really want to read is good historical fiction about a WWII POW Army nurse based on the research from this book? Someone plz write that, kthx
also I'm thinking about booktalking this to junior high kids because it's an interesting topic and WWII books are usually popular. This book is interesting in how it casually dips on the fear women had of being raped, and there's one part where the head nurse writes how proud she is that none of the women in the POW camp were "selling favors"... overall I think it's a pretty light touch on the really horrific situation.
I did kind of wish the book had maybe followed a few nurses in particular rather than snippets about so many of them, but I understand there are very little records to go on here, and of course it does feel right to honor as many of these heroic nurses as possible. Maybe what I really want to read is good historical fiction about a WWII POW Army nurse based on the research from this book? Someone plz write that, kthx
also I'm thinking about booktalking this to junior high kids because it's an interesting topic and WWII books are usually popular. This book is interesting in how it casually dips on the fear women had of being raped, and there's one part where the head nurse writes how proud she is that none of the women in the POW camp were "selling favors"... overall I think it's a pretty light touch on the really horrific situation.
Just an excellent middle-grade NF story about the first combat/POW nurses in the beginning of WWII when the Japanese attacked the Philippines. It's graphic and heartbreaking. You'll be angry for them, angry with them, sad for them, sad with them. These women did not get the recognition - or more importantly - the HELP they needed when they returned home. Unlike their male counterparts, they were less likely to apply for VA benefits, and the few who did were often denied or given significantly less. Filled with personal narratives and photographs, these women will stay with me a while.
challenging
informative
tense
medium-paced
An absolutely fascinating account of the nurses that were taken as POW's in the Philippine Islands during World War II. I wish we had learned about this during history class.
We all know about the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, "a date that will live in infamy." But how many know that only 9 hours later, the Japanese launched an attack on American bases in the Philippines? The fact is that most of us don't really know as much about the Pacific front as we do the European front.
Likewise, most of us don't know that when American forces were forced to surrender and the troops who had not been killed were taken prisoner, among the POWs were approximately 100 military nurses, both Army and Naval.
Mary Cronk Farrell's Pure Grit is the story of how those nurses not only survived, but also how they continued to care for the sick and wounded with dwindling medical supplies and food. When the women had first come to the Philippines, their workload in the base hospitals was light, only 4 hours a day because of the heat and humidity, and their spare time was filled with dancing, golfing, tennis, swimming and even a little romance for some. Living a resort-like life, no one was expecting the war to come their way. As one nurse, Peggy Nash, said: "I had no idea there was going to be a war...That's how naive I was." (pg 16)
When US troops retreated to Bataan, 25 nurses were sent there to care for the wounded, but they first had to set up a makeshift hospital. In no time, the wards were overflowing. From January 1941 until their liberation in 1945, these brave nurses continued to care for the sick and wounded under continuously deteriorating conditions, practicing what Farrell calls "Make-Do Medicine" (Chapter 6)
Over the course of those three years, the nurses lost weight because of the starvation-level rations they were given. some developed beriberi, others dengue fever and/or bouts of malaria and tuberculosis. Even after they returned to the US, many suffered from untreated Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, untreated because Farrell writes, understanding of PTSD was two wars and generations away.
And sadly, it wasn't until most of the nurses had passed away that any real recognition of they had experienced and the nearly miraculous care they gave to their patients under such terrible conditions was acknowledged.
Pure Grit is a well researched and very readable history of these courageous women. Some of their individual stories are sandwiched into the narrative of what happened in the Philippines, giving it all a very intimate feeling. That feeling is enhanced by all the private photos, newspaper clippings, diaries, and other primary source documents Farrell included to round out the lives of those admirable nurses who served so bravely.
Besides a history of the survival of the nurses held POW by the Japanese, there is also a useful glossary, a list of all the nurses serving when the Japanese invaded, a select timeline pertaining mostly to the events affecting the Philippines, extensive Endnotes, a nice bibliography, and websites where the curious can find more information.
War books are not always easy to read, but Pure Grit is an exception to the rule and a wonderful addition to any Women's History library. And it will be available just in time for Women's History Month which is in March.
Full Disclosure: I have a soft spot in my heart for women who became nurses during WWII - which is exactly what my mom did.
This book is recommended for readers age 12+
This book was an E-ARC received from NetGalley
Pure Grit: How American World War II Nurses Survived Battle and Prison Camp in the Pacific will be released February 25, 2014.
This review was originally posted on The Children's War
Likewise, most of us don't know that when American forces were forced to surrender and the troops who had not been killed were taken prisoner, among the POWs were approximately 100 military nurses, both Army and Naval.
Mary Cronk Farrell's Pure Grit is the story of how those nurses not only survived, but also how they continued to care for the sick and wounded with dwindling medical supplies and food. When the women had first come to the Philippines, their workload in the base hospitals was light, only 4 hours a day because of the heat and humidity, and their spare time was filled with dancing, golfing, tennis, swimming and even a little romance for some. Living a resort-like life, no one was expecting the war to come their way. As one nurse, Peggy Nash, said: "I had no idea there was going to be a war...That's how naive I was." (pg 16)
When US troops retreated to Bataan, 25 nurses were sent there to care for the wounded, but they first had to set up a makeshift hospital. In no time, the wards were overflowing. From January 1941 until their liberation in 1945, these brave nurses continued to care for the sick and wounded under continuously deteriorating conditions, practicing what Farrell calls "Make-Do Medicine" (Chapter 6)
Over the course of those three years, the nurses lost weight because of the starvation-level rations they were given. some developed beriberi, others dengue fever and/or bouts of malaria and tuberculosis. Even after they returned to the US, many suffered from untreated Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, untreated because Farrell writes, understanding of PTSD was two wars and generations away.
And sadly, it wasn't until most of the nurses had passed away that any real recognition of they had experienced and the nearly miraculous care they gave to their patients under such terrible conditions was acknowledged.
Pure Grit is a well researched and very readable history of these courageous women. Some of their individual stories are sandwiched into the narrative of what happened in the Philippines, giving it all a very intimate feeling. That feeling is enhanced by all the private photos, newspaper clippings, diaries, and other primary source documents Farrell included to round out the lives of those admirable nurses who served so bravely.
Besides a history of the survival of the nurses held POW by the Japanese, there is also a useful glossary, a list of all the nurses serving when the Japanese invaded, a select timeline pertaining mostly to the events affecting the Philippines, extensive Endnotes, a nice bibliography, and websites where the curious can find more information.
War books are not always easy to read, but Pure Grit is an exception to the rule and a wonderful addition to any Women's History library. And it will be available just in time for Women's History Month which is in March.
Full Disclosure: I have a soft spot in my heart for women who became nurses during WWII - which is exactly what my mom did.
This book is recommended for readers age 12+
This book was an E-ARC received from NetGalley
Pure Grit: How American World War II Nurses Survived Battle and Prison Camp in the Pacific will be released February 25, 2014.
This review was originally posted on The Children's War
This is the story of nurses who were in Bataan during WWII. Several nurses are followed throughout the book. Why didn't I learn their story when I was in school.
I believe that all high school graduates should know this story as part of "things you should know" in order to graduate. These women endured battle, disease, injury, starvation, etc., the same as the soldiers, yet day after day, they cared for the sick, injured, and dying soldiers. These women are truly heroes in every sense of the word.
I believe that all high school graduates should know this story as part of "things you should know" in order to graduate. These women endured battle, disease, injury, starvation, etc., the same as the soldiers, yet day after day, they cared for the sick, injured, and dying soldiers. These women are truly heroes in every sense of the word.
An interesting and little known piece of history, my only issue was that it was hard to keep track of the people at times.
fascinating. and i cried a lot. i am the sort that cries when she reads about actual bravery. so i misted up a lot throughout, but absolutely blubbered my way through the rescue chapter. and it hurt to read about how the nurses were treated after they came back.
Books like these need to be mandatory in schools. It's pathetic that these women were forgotten and continue to be left out of the history books.