My Holiday Offer for You, Plus a Salute for Pearl Harbor Day

Published: Fri, 12/06/19

Author Mary Cronk Farrell

Stories to Inform & Inspire

December 6, 2019

Hello ,

This year as we mark Pearl Harbor Day, December 7th, I'd like to remember the brave military nurses who were among the first Americans to witness the devastation of Japanese attacks.

Writing the story of these women in my book Pure Grit: How American WWII Nurses Survived Battle and Prison Camp in the Pacific became one of the most profound journeys of my life.

Today's story takes us back to my initial hopes for the book and how I got started compiling research into a compelling story.

But first, welcome new subscriber Marilynne Keyser. Thanks for joining us!

Check out the News & Links section below for my holiday offer to you, free postage on autographed books for your family and friends.

Pearl Harbor: Remember the Women

Nine hours after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, they attacked the U.S. Army and Navy forces in the Philippines.

One hundred American military nurses were on duty in there, seven thousand miles from home.

The women were hit with an on-onslaught of wounded and dying men--but the even though they were military nurses, they'd never been trained in combat medicine!

They had deployed to the South Pacific to enjoy a life of ease in a tropical paradise. Nobody expected war. Still, the Army and Navy nurses rose to the occasion and learned combat nursing while bombs exploded around them.

When American forces retreated into the jungle, the women went ahead and set up combat hospitals. They were the first large group of American women ordered into combat.

When American forces eventually surrendered on Bataan and Corregidor--the women were captured by the Japanese and 79 of them spent three years in prison camps before being liberated by General MacArthur's men in 1945.

The research for my book included a daunting amount of material. I wanted to tell a concise, powerful story , but at the same time help readers come to know individual women.

Initially, I focused on two particular women because I discovered photographs taken of them in Santo Tomas Prison Camp

This photo of Navy Nurse Peggy Nash was snapped by a Japanese guard in the prison camp hospital. Peggy had been in a panic when the man followed her around for five days because she didn’t know what he intended. She was relieved when he took her photo and finally went away. She never expected to see the picture.

But nearly there years later, it was found on a Japanese prisoner and wound up crossing the desk of a naval officer who had known Peggy. American newspapers published the photo and it was her family’s first indication she and the other Navy nurses might be alive.

This photo is Army Nurse Frankie Lewey tending a wounded man shortly after U.S. soldiers crashed their tanks through the gates to liberate the POW nurses. It’s iconic.

Throughout combat and imprisonment, the women continually put the needs of others before their own. One of the nurses was so ill she was hospitalized when liberators arrived. But when she heard the voices of the American soldiers, she jumped up and went outside. She ended up nursing wounded men all night in her pajamas.

In the early 1980’s the Department of Defense conducted oral interviews with a few dozen nurses still alive. Transcripts of these interviews became the heart of how I viewed the women’s experiences of combat and prison camp. These interviews also helped me distinguish the women’s attitudes and personalities.

Pure Grit includes one hundred historical photos and the viewpoints of dozens of nurses to help round out our understanding of the broad and varied historical contributions of American women.

News and Links

Stumped finishing your holiday shopping?

I'm here to help you with a special offer of free shipping on my books. Even gift wrapping if you want them sent directly to the recipient. I will autograph them personally for your friends and family.

Books and prices are listed below. To order hit reply to this email, tell me which books you want autographed to whom, and I'll bill you via Pay Pal. You do not need to have a Paypal account.

Remember to include the address where I should send the books, and tell me if you want gift wrapping.

Order within the week to assure arrival by Christmas. Best for you (and me) to order by December 13th.

Standing Up Against Hate hardcover $17.99

Fannie Never Flinched hardcover $19.99

Pure Grit hardcover $24.99

Daughters of the Desert hardcover $19.99 paperback $14.99

Fire in the Hole! used copy $5.00

Click here to see descriptions of my books.

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Until next week...

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To find out more about my books, how I help students, teachers, librarians and writers visit my website at www.MaryCronkFarrell.com.

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