Walter Macdougall - Angel of Bataan: The Life of a World War II Army Nurse in the War Zone and at Home

Angel of Bataan

Angel of Bataan

The Life of a World War II Army Nurse in the War Zone and at Home

Walter M. Macdougall

Camden, Maine

Published by Down East Books

A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706

www.rowman.com

Unit A, Whitacre Mews, 26-34 Stannary Street, London SE11 4AB

Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK

Copyright 2015 by Walter M. Macdougall

All rights reserved . No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Macdougall, Walter Marshall.

Angel of Bataan : the life of a World War II army nurse in the war zone and at home / Walter Macdougall.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-1-60893-374-7 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-60893-375-4 (electronic) 1. McAlevey, Alice Zwicker, 19171976. 2. United States. Army Nurse CorpsBiography. 3. World War, 19391945Medical careUnited States. 4. World War, 19391945Prisoners and prisons, Japanese. 5. World War, 19391945Participation, Female. 6. Prisoners of warPhilippinesBiography. 7. NursesUnited StatesBiography. 8. Brownville (Me.)Biography. I. Title.

D807.U6M217 2015

940.54'7252092dc23

[B]

2015001653

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

Acknowledgments

T his biography owes a great deal to Alice Zwickers propensity for saving items and photographs. It was her nephew Rodney Tenney who saved Alices collection and preserved it. However, Rods role in creating this biography became far more than serving as conservator of the Zwicker Family Collection. He leant his extensive knowledge, judgment, ability as a researcher, and unfailing support to the writing of this book.

In addition to her insightful recollections of her Aunt Alice, Jayne Minchner Winters took on the proofreading of the text. For this arduous accomplishment, I am most grateful. Another of Alices nieces, Lynn Zwicker Weston, took an active and helpful interest in this endeavor, as did her father, Eli Zwicker, who was Alices younger brother. Eli had an exceptional memory and keen insights that he shared with me, along with his sense of humor.

Regrettably, Alices brother Kenneth Zwicker died before I began researching this book. Nonetheless, I am deeply indebted to Ken, and I have often drawn from his delightful book, Hard Times without Depression: Growing up in Maine 19201940 . Kenneths wife, Marilyn Zwicker, has also been most supportive of this project.

Many of Alices Brownville neighbors have contributed anecdotes, clippings, and photographs. When I was considering writing this biography, Carlson Williams, son of Alices high school principal, and his wife, Carolyn, produced clippings and photos. Jane Macomber shared carefully saved letters from Alice about her operations. Ruth Barker described her training days at Eastern Maine General Hospital. Donald Stickney recalled Brownville in the time of Alices youth, and local historian William Sawtell shared his long-standing interest in Alices story. To all who helped, I offer my thanks. They have enriched my life as well as this book.

Help and encouragement came from far away as well as close at hand. I owe much to Mildred Dalton Manning, Alices close friend, who was the last living member of the Angels of Bataan. Despite her physical condition, Mildred Manning sent me handwritten letters filled with recollections and invaluable information.

Deserving special thanks as well is Professor Elizabeth Norman, author of We Band of Angels , the definitive account of the nurses in the Philippines during World War II, who, despite her busy schedule, kindly gave advice.

Often people I met only by telephone went out of their way to track down information to answer my many questions. It is inspiring to know there are so many helpful and responsible people about.

The notes recognize the many sources and institutions that provided assistance. Among these are the Brownville Historical Society, the University of Maines Special Collections, the MacArthur Institute, the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor, and the Center for Military History.

To all those mentioned above, to the many others who contributed and are not named, and to the entire Zwicker family, who permitted the writing of this account, I acknowledge my debt and express my thanks.

Prologue

O n February 5, 2013, the Bangor Daily News began its feature Today in History with the following item:

Todays Highlight in History:

On Feb. 5, 1945... all Eastern Maine joined Mr. and Mrs. James Zwicker... in expressing pleasure and thanks that their daughter Lt. Alice Zwicker, Army Nurse Corps, had been freed from [an] internment camp at Santo Tomas in the Philippines.

This newspaper quote is overly conservative. In reality, all of Maine joined in welcoming Alice home. She was the only servicewoman in Maine who was a prisoner of the enemy in either of the two great world wars.

But there was more than that involved. Across the nation, whenever one of the seventy-seven Angels of Bataan returned home, there was a heros welcome. Those army and navy nurses had shown what American women could do and be, even in times of defeat.

What follows is Alices storyher childhood in a small Maine town, her commitment to the profession of nursing, and her immersion in World War II, including stints in Manila, Bataan, and Corregidor, followed by three long, hungry years when she was held prisoner by the Japanese.

For Alice, the terrible legacy of war did not end with her liberation from internment camp, or even with her homecoming. When Alice finally achieved victory, it was within her own soul. What is chronicled in the following pages is offered in honor of her compassion, her spirit, and her faith.

Where the Pleasant River Flows

O n one of the last, terrible days before Corregidor and those in Malinta Tunnel surrendered, Alice sat down to breakfast in the sifting concrete dust that fell with each pounding concussion from above. In her own words, there before her were a tablespoon of cold corn beef hash on a dirty plate and half a glass of warm water in a dirty glass.

In her mind she could visualize the wonderful spring near her home in Brownville, Maine. The fine sand at the bottom of that spring would move ever so slightly and continually as new, clean water from the earth bubbled upward, and the dipper that hung on a branch above the pool would be perfectly reflected upon the still surface.

It was the spring of home! Mixed with her hunger and exhaustion, thoughts of home came frequently. How gladly she would now contribute her alto voice to the church choir. What was that beautiful hymn with the Whittier words? Within the Maddening Maze of Things, that was it:

I know not where the islands

Lift their fronded palms in air,

I only know I cannot drift

Beyond His love and care.

Alice had not given much thought to these words when she was a young choir memberprobably few in Brownville did, young or old. However, on a December Sunday in 1941, all across America, the knowledge of geography suddenly expanded, and, in the days and months that were to follow, the faith of all would be challenged. The names and locations of many islands with fronded palms would become well known, and the losses in far-off places would anguish those at home. From the little village of Brownville and its surrounding countryside, 261 young people had gone off to war; thirteen would not return; and none would come home unchanged.