Duty First

During my time at Jefferson, I was fortunate to meet many interesting and inspirational people. They shared not only their personal histories but also their firsthand experiences of significant historical events. I realized that these remarkable stories existed only in my memory, so I began recording them to ensure they would not be lost.

Many of the people I met were veterans of World War II. Among them was Madeline Ullom, who graduated from what was then the Jefferson Nursing School in 1938 before joining the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. Inspired by her sister, who was already serving as an Army nurse, Madeline hoped to see the world and experience a life of adventure.

After serving for a time at Walter Reed Army Hospital, she was assigned to Manila in the Philippines. Following two years of peaceful service, her life changed dramatically when the Japanese attacked the city on Dec. 8, 1941. As Manila came under assault, she worked long hours in the operating room at Sternberg Hospital caring for the wounded. When American forces abandoned Manila, she was evacuated to Corregidor, the island fortress in Manila Bay. There, the hospital operated within the Malinta Tunnel, a massive underground complex carved into solid rock in anticipation of war.

As fighting intensified on the Bataan Peninsula and casualties mounted, Madeline was reassigned to one of the field hospitals established there. Like the soldiers she cared for, the nurses endured constant danger and hardship under enemy attack. When it became clear that American forces on Bataan were about to surrender, the nurses were evacuated back to Corregidor.

Following the surrender of Corregidor, Madeline became a prisoner of war and was sent, along with the other Army nurses, to Santo Tomas Internment Camp. It was the first time in American history that women had been held as prisoners of war. She remained there for nearly three years, enduring starvation- level rations and severe malnutrition until the camp was liberated in 1945.

After the war, Madeline remained in the Army, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1964 and settling in Tucson, Arizona, where I visited her many times. Throughout retirement, she remained active, accepting many invitations to speak about her wartime experiences. She proudly wore her Jefferson nursing pin until later in life.

And Madeline had many stories to tell, for during her captivity she had secretly kept a diary on onionskin paper, concealing it in a pocket sewn into her skirt. Had the diary been discovered, she could have faced execution by the Japanese. That diary is the only known contemporaneous account written by one of the Army nurses during captivity and it is published for the first time in my new book, “Duty First – Surviving Bataan, Corregidor and Captivity in World War II: One Angel’s Story.”

Here, then, are excerpts from Madeline Ullom’s extraordinary story, “Duty First.”

Prisoner
When asked about the effect of being a prisoner had on her in later life, she replied: “It has made me appreciate freedom. It’s made me appreciate many qualities in people and circumstances that I would never have thought about before. It has made me a little cautious. It has made me a little more thoughtful and it makes you question. Makes you very analytical. Things are not always as they seem as regard to circumstances or people. You take nothing for granted. If people say something you accept it because maybe, it’s the proper thing to do to accept. You might not necessarily agree with it and you might question it in your own mind.”

Captivity
Madeline could have spent her time in captivity looking after herself first and spending her time just waiting for MacArthur to return and release her from captivity while bemoaning her fate. That was not the stuff that she was made. She jumped into her work and staffed the hospital and clinics. When the starvation diet deprived her of their strength she continued her work. She may have been a Prisoner of War, but she was a nurse and Army officer first. She carried out her duties despite the many obstacles thrown in front of her with dignity and professionalism. After the liberation of the camp, she could have joined the celebrations but took time to care for the wounded and later spent hours in the operating room.

Sacrifice
Madeline summed up the sacrifice and meaning of her time in prison better than anyone. “Suddenly and with stark delineation, the full impact of what it means to be a prisoner of war entered into and became our reality. The loss of freedom is, perhaps one of the most difficult things any American, or any citizen of a democracy, can endure. Freedom is after all, the essential ingredient of democracy. … I and my fellow POW’s, the survivors of Bataan and Corregidor, are proud to be counted in that long line of patriots, who have been willing to risk everything – for the right to be free.”