Political Quotes

“today I honor the legacy of Mildred Manning, the last surviving American female WWII POW, who died March 8 at age 98. Mrs. Manning's heroics in Bataan and Corregidor are an enduring example of the bravery of American servicemembers and of nurses' dedication to caring for patients. I wish to share her amazing story. Mrs. Manning, born in 1914 on a poor Georgia farm, aspired to escape the poverty which surrounded her. She attended nursing school during the Depression, and in 1939 she joined the Army Nurse Corps. Wishing to see the world, she requested assignment in the Philippines. Weeks after Mrs. Manning arrived in Manila, Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and a U.S. air base near Manila. During the months-long Battle of the Philippines which forced an American retreat to the peninsula of Bataan and the island of Corregidor, Mrs. Manning was one of a handful of Army and Navy nurses who braved the relentless attacks to treat wounded and dying soldiers. When Americans surrendered in May, 1942, Mrs. Manning was one of 77 Army and Navy nurses who were captured and spent the rest of the war in harrowing imprisonment. The prison, built on the grounds of Manila's Santo Tomas University, held nearly 4,000 people in squalid conditions. There were no showers, beds, or kitchens. Hundreds of people were forced to share a single toilet. Food was so scarce prisoners suffered severely from malnutrition.…”