The Forgotten POW: Second Lieutenant Reba Z. Whittle, AN

Abstract

During World War II, 68 Army nurses and 16 Navy nurses were taken prisoner. The stories of all, except one, have been documented. Second Lieutenant Reba Z. Whittle, AN, was captured when the air evacuation flight on which she was serving as the flight nurse strayed into enemy territory on September 27, 1944 and was shot down. She was imprisoned until her repatriation following a prisoner exchange in January 1945. During her imprisonment she kept a diary of her experiences. This study documents her story through the annotation of that diary. The annotation consists of background information for the period prior to her capture, an elaboration of some details she provides, and an overview of her repatriation and return home, and her later efforts at obtaining disability benefits. A comparison of her imprisonment with the internment of the nurses in the Philippines also is made. Keywords: Prisoners of war, POW, Army nurses, World War II, Philippines, Reba Z. Whittle, Southwest Pacific (SWPA), Military personnel.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 1990
Accession Number
ADA223404

Entities

People

  • Mary E. Frank

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Governments
  • Health Services
  • Hospitals
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Medicine
  • Pain
  • Patient Care
  • Personnel Management
  • Physical Disabilities
  • Physicians
  • Prisoners Of War
  • Schools
  • Second World War
  • Students
  • United States
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Criminal Law
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.