Prisoners of War

The Prisoners of War Educational lesson/theme expresses the fact that women have been Prisoners of War (POWs). The theme emphasizes Pearl Harbor and the subsequent fall of the Philippines, resulting in the capture of 77 Army and Navy nurses during World War II; the various significant roles ward and head nurses conducted; and the experiences of life as a POW as illustrated by an expert in the subject matter and from one of the last surviving World War II POWs. Mildred Manning, the last surviving POW who was interviewed for Unsung Heroes shortly before she died in 2013, offers first hand accounts of her experience. Rhonda Cornum, who was taken POW during the 1991 Gulf War, also recounts some of her experience as a POW. The college curriculum associated with this theme will introduce academic tools and readings that will present the opportunity to read and examine first hand accounts of Dorothy Danner and Rhonda Cornum, POWs respectively during World War II and the Gulf War.

Elizabeth Norman, Ph.D., Historian, Teacher and Author

Elizabeth Norman, Ph.D., is a historian, teacher and best-selling author who has spent her career telling the stories of nurses and female soldiers during war. Her books include: Women in War: The Story of Fifty Nurses Who Served in Vietnam.

Mildred Manning, Former 1st Lt., U.S. Army Nurse Corps

Mildred Manning served as a nurse during World War II. While stationed in Corregidor, she and seventy-six other nurses were captured by the Japanese and sent to the Santo Tomas Internment Camp in Manila. She spent three years as a POW.

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