I began to read Elise Hooper’s riveting Angels of the Pacific – A Novel of World War II at the same time Russia began its bombing of Ukraine. It’s easy to compare the two wars (and yes, what’s happening in Ukraine is a war), and not feel outrage for the aggressors and anguish for the victims. What stands out in Hooper’s novel, and what stands out in the daily reports from Ukraine, are the very brave people who risk everything to resist the enemy and save lives.
Hooper wisely focuses on those whose stories have been overlooked. The narrative alternates between two women – Teresa (Tess) Abbott, an American Army Nurse, and Flor Dalisay, a Filipino college student in Manila. Tess’s story is inspired by the Angels of Bataan, the nurses stationed in Manila who were eventually captured and imprisoned. Through extreme conditions, they continued to care for the prisoners of war, while also doing whatever they could to help the Allies. Most likely there were many Flors in the Philippines, young Filipino women who put up a facade of being innocent and helpless, while working hard for the underground to save their country.
In December, 1941, Tess and the other nurses (Virginia, Sally, and Nell), are excited about attending the annual Christmas gala at the Army-Navy Officers’ Club in Manila. The war raging in Europe seems far away. But on the way to the party, they happen upon an accident and Tess manages to save the life of a little boy, bringing into focus their mission.
Although they are nurses, Tess and her friends are also attractive young women, and romance is never far from their minds. Virginia spends some of her time writing a romance novel, occasionally reading passages to the other nurses. Sparks fly, not only on the page, but in real life. At the Christmas gala, Tess meets an older officer named George, and a brief encounter leads to a long term, although long distance, relationship.
The nurses have just settled into Fort Stotsenburg, where they will work in the Station Hospital, when they learn the Japanese have bombed Pearl Harbor. Suddenly, everything changes. With the Americans now in the war, there is hope that the Japanese advancement in the South Pacific can be halted, but help will not be arriving anytime soon. The attack in Hawaii dealt a serious blow to America’s naval and air power. When bombs start to fall, the nurses and their patients are forced to leave Manila for Bataan. It’s a long dangerous journey, although one that pales in comparison to the notorious Bataan Death March in April, 1942, when American and Filipino POWs were brutally treated, denied food and water, many forced to march until they died.
Tess and the other nurses bravely endure the hardships – unbearable heat, swarming mosquitos, and worm-infested food – always placing their patients first. A bright spot occurs when Virginia decides to marry her boyfriend, Darren, a doctor. Tess transforms an old parachute into a wedding dress for her friend, but before the big event can take place, the Japanese attack and Darren is killed. Another painful reminder that death is always near.
WWII Barracks ruins at Corrigedor Philippines Last stand against the Japanese Invasion. (Bigstock photo)
After relocating to Corregidor Island, the nurses are captured and imprisoned in the Santo Tomas Internment Camp. They continue to care for their patients while also doing whatever they can to help the Allies, finding an unusual spy, Frances, an 11 year-old whose father is in the hospital. Because she can understand Japanese, Tess recruits her to report back on any conversations she overhears. None of the Japanese soldiers suspect a child, so talk freely in front of Frances. She’s able to pass along vital information. Tess, in turn, uses white thread to sew messages onto the sheets that are sent out to be washed.
Flor’s sister, Iris, is one of the Filipino nurses working with Tess. Flor’s father, Dr. Romeo Dalisay, managed a small practice but also served in the Philippines’ Ministry of Health and was a close friend of the president – all making him a prime target for the Japanese once they occupy Manila. On one visit, an officer, outraged when Flor’s mother speaks up, beats her viciously, causing serious injuries to her legs. Romeo feels helpless, knowing that to protest would just increase the beatings. From that moment on, Flor is determined to do whatever she can to help defeat the Japanese.
After their capture, Tess is “gobsmacked” when a Japanese captain who had attended college in California, speaks to them in perfect English. “This man had come to our country and lived with us, yet now warred against us? A keen sense of betrayal flared within me.”
Hooper ends her novel on an upbeat note, but even that positive ending can’t erase all the deaths, pain, and suffering that occurred. It would be easy to leave these stories to the history books, but current events prove that’s not possible. Hooper’s novel is not only a compelling read, but one that serves up a cautionary tale too important to ignore.
Top photo: Public Domain photo from United States Army Center of Military History
Angels of the Pacific
Elise Hooper
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