The American Nurses Who Became Prisoners of War

They tended soldiers as bombs fell. They ate fried weeds after their food ran out. Then they were captured.

Liberated Bataan nurses at Santo Tomas on Feb. 12, 1945 / Credit: U.S. Signal Corps

American nurses have worked in military hospitals — and fallen into enemy hands — at least since the Civil War. But until World War II, they had few chances to use their skills on the front lines. That…