Josephine Nesbit

Josephine May Nesbit (also known as Josie Nesbit;[1] December 23, 1894 — August 16, 1993) was an American nurse who served in the Army Nurse Corps.[2] She was second in command of the Angels of Bataan, Army nurses stationed in the Philippine Islands during World War II[2] who were the largest group of American women taken as prisoners of war,[3] and noted for her "humane, dynamic leadership style."[2] She was credited with the nurses' survival in captivity.[3][4]

Early life and education

Nesbit was born on her family's farm near Butler, Missouri on December 23, 1894.[2] She was the seventh of ten children and experienced a difficult early childhood.[5][4] By the time Nesbit was 12 years old, both her parents had died, leaving her and her siblings orphaned.[5][2][4] She first lived with her grandmother and later lived with a cousin in Kansas.[4][2]

She left high school at age 16.[4] After speaking with her sister's nursing superintendent, she chose to begin training as a nurse.[2] Seeking "adventure and independence," Nesbit became a registered nurse in 1914.[5]

Service in Army Nurse Corps

In 1918, an army recruiter visited Kansas City seeking nurses to help with the influenza epidemic, leading Nesbit to join the Army Nurse Corps.[2] She became Reserve Army Nurse N700 665 at Camp Logan Hospital in Houston, Texas, on October 1, 1918.[2]

Stenberg General Hospital in Manila in 1940.

Sternberg General Hospital

Nesbit was on her second tour of duty in the Philippines when World War II began.[5] Until the war began, being stationed in the Philippines had been considered a "desirable posting," as there was plenty of free time, "wonderful weather," and "luxurious accommodations."[5]

At Stenberg General Hospital in Manila, where she worked, Nesbit was a Lieutenant and second in command to Captain Maude Davison, who was the Chief Nurse.[4] She "set the work schedules and established the routines."[4] While Davison was addressed as "Miss," Nesbit's staff referred to her as "Josie." Nesbit's Filipina colleagues referred to her as "Mama Josie."[4][2] She referred to her staff as "my girls."[2] Nesbit enjoyed socializing with her staff and was frequently consulted by them for advice on personal matters.[2]

Malinta Tunnel Hospital, where Nesbit and her colleagues worked on Corregidor.

In December 1941, Japan attacked the Philippines.[5] On December 8, 1941, Nesbit was the acting Chief Nurse at Stenberg General Hospital[1] as Davison had been injured in a night raid.[6] Since about 3:30 a.m., information about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had been reaching the nurses in Manila via radio; the American nurses stationed in the Philippines were concerned about their relatives and friends in Honolulu.[1] Nesbit told the staff, "Girls, you’ve got to sleep today. You can’t weep and wail over this because you have to work tonight."[7] Less than nine hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese military bombed Baguio.[1] 15 minutes later, Clark Field was attacked; most of the American B-17 bombers were "caught on the ground and destroyed."[1] Shortly after, the hospital filled with patients.[1]

General Hospital #2

The Army Nurse Corps were ordered to set up a hospital in the jungle, General Hospital #2.[2] Without a building, the frontline hospital served 6,000 patients and had 18 wards.[5] Conditions were extremely rudimentary; patients lay on improvised cots and the jungle floor.[5] Many nurses cared for the patients while sick with malarial fever themselves.[5] Japanese soldiers were approaching and there was constant artillery fire.[5] Nesbit helped maintain "morale and solidarity," insisting that "the women respond always as nurses, as army officers and as a united group."[5] She took care of the nurses, commanding sick nurses to go to bed and locating shoes, clothing, and underwear for nurses who did not have them.[2]

Corregidor

Female prisoners of war at Santo Tomas Internment Camp.

In April 1942, Japanese soldiers were less than two miles away.[5] Nesbit was informed by Colonel James E. Gillepsie, the medical commander, that only American nurses were to evacuate.[7] When told that the 26 Filipina nurses who had worked alongside the American nurses were to remain, she refused to leave unless all nurses were evacuated.[5] Gillepsie telephoned the headquarters and received permission to evacuate the Filipina nurses as well.[7] The nurses were then safely evacuated to the Corregidor island in Manila Bay.[1][2] There, nurses worked in an underground hospital located in Malinta Tunnel, where conditions were extremely difficult.[8]

On May 3, 1942, Nesbit and several other nurses were offered an opportunity to leave the island by evacuating on the last allied submarine,[2] the USS Spearfish.[6] Along with Ann Mealor and Ann Wurts, she refused, volunteering to remain at the hospital.[9]

A group of Army nurses liberated from Santo Tomas Internment Camp in 1945.
US Army nurses liberated from Santo Tomas Internment Camp in 1945.

Internment at Santo Tomas Internment Camp

On May 6, 1942, Malinta Tunnel was captured by Japanese soldiers.[2] The nurses were taken as prisoners of war and taken to Santo Tomas Internment Camp in Manila.[8] Disease and starvation were rampant in the camp and many nurses fell ill.[2] There, Nesbit and Maude Davison ran the camp hospital from August 1942 to February 1945.[2] For the next two years, they "maintained morale by imposing structure within their ranks, requiring nurses to work at least four-hour shifts each day."[8] If one of the nurses was too weak to complete her shift, Nesbit would often replace her.[5] She took care of the nurses, finding pieces of cloth for underwear and tiny pieces of meat to provide them with extra protein.[5]

In January 1945, Allied forces took over the Philippine Islands.[8] All the 3 700 prisoners of war[6] were liberated shortly thereafter, including the 77 nurses.[8] All of them had survived, despite the challenges they had experienced.[8] Nesbit was credited with the survival of the nurses in captivity.[4][3]

Later life

After liberation, Nesbit returned to the United States.[2] She retired from the military on November 30, 1946, as a Major with 28 years of service.[2] In June 1949, Nesbit married William Davis, who had also been interned in the war.[2] They lived a "quiet life" in California.[2]

In her later life, Nesbit continued to advocate for the nurses, writing to the Veterans Administration when she felt that their needs were not being met.[2] For 49 years, she sent cards and notes to every nurse who had served on her Philippine staff on Christmas and their birthdays.[2] In 1992, a ceremony was held in Washington D.C. celebrating the Angels of Bataan; Nesbit, at age 97, was unable to attend due to poor health but wrote a note for the dinner program explaining to her former staff that her "heart and spirit remained young" and that both were "big enough to still embrace her girls."[2]

Death

Nesbit died on August 16, 1993, at age 99. She was four months away from her 100th birthday.[2] Her body was cremated and her ashes were scattered off the San Francisco coast.[2]

Honors and awards

Quotes

"Of all emotions mental and, of all feelings physical, hunger is unquestionably the most overpowering! I assure you, when you are hungry, you will do almost anything. Anything."[10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Manning, Michele. "U.S. Army War College - Strategic Studies Institute" (PDF).
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 Bullough, Vern L. (2000). American Nursing: A Biographical Dictionary, Volume 3. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company. pp. 215–218.
  3. 1 2 3 Carter, Chelsea J. (April 7, 1999). "Bataan Nurses' Adventure Turned to Terror and WW II Prison Camp". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Norman, Elizabeth (1999). We Band of Angels: The Untold Story of the American Women Trapped on Bataan. Random House.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Hanink, Elizabeth. "Josephine Nesbit and the WWII Angels of Bataan". Working Nurse. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  6. 1 2 3 Tomblin, Barbara Brooks (2003). "War Comes to the Pacific". G.I. Nightingales: The Army Nurse Corps in World War II. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 13–37.
  7. 1 2 3 Patrick, Bethanne Kelly. "Lt. Josephine Nesbit". www.military.com. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The Angels of Bataan and Corregidor: 70 Years Later - History in the Headlines". HISTORY.com. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  9. ↑ "Philippine Defenders" (PDF).
  10. ↑ Monahan, Evelyn (2010). All This Hell: U.S. Nurses Imprisoned by the Japanese. University Press of Kentucky.
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