And If I Perish: Frontline U.S. Army Nurses in World War II [Paperback]

In World War II, 59,000 women voluntarily risked their lives for their country as U.S. Army nurses. When the war began, some of them had so little idea of what to expect that they packed party dresses; but the reality of service quickly caught up with them, whether they waded through the water in the historic landings on North African and Normandy beaches, or worked around the clock in hospital tents on the Italian front as bombs fell all around them.

For more than half a century these women’s experiences remained untold, almost without reference in books, historical societies, or military archives. After years of reasearch and hundreds of hours of interviews, Evelyn M. Monahan and Rosemary Neidel-Greenlee have created a dramatic narrative that at last brings to light the critical role that women played throughout the war. From the North African and Italian Campaigns to the Liberation of France and the Conquest of Germany, U.S. Army nurses rose to the demands of war on the frontlines with grit, humor, and great heroism. A long overdue work of history,And If I Perishis also a powerful tribute to these women and their inspiring legacy."An important corrective to the current historical record . . . and a worthy memorial to those who died in action." --Jill Ker Conway, author ofThe Road fromCoorain

“The contributions and sacrifices of American nurses in World War II were ignored for decades. . . . Read this book, and remember them all.” —San Francisco Chronicle

"Battle by battle, in vivid, newsreel-like fashion, the authors dramatically portray the heroic efforts of courageous women who experienced the war at its most horrific and heartrending levels."--Booklist

"Pioneering research. . . . Notable for the selfless yet matter-of-fact attitude of the nurses as they describe their contributions, the book gives deserved recognition to this neglected aspect of mililÓ#