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

From "cover to cover" (I have a Kindle), I could only put this book down when I absolutely needed to. I'd been wanting to learn more about WWII nurses and pilots from my parents (flight nurse and C47pilot), but they couldn't tell me enough to really let me know what they went through. This book covers so much information, from N. Africa through Europe, and finally to the death camps, through the eyes of those who were there. Heartwarming, heartbreaking, revealing, but always spellbinding! Excellent clarification of the campaigns, and I feel deep appreciation for those who throughout history have fought for liberty and to help those who fought, and placed their own lives on the line for what they believed in.

This is a fast moving, factual narrative that captivates interest on every page. While it outlines many of the military campaigns of WW2, it is all about the dedicated lives of women who willingly went and served in the most difficult places throughout most of the war. I stand in awe of these nurses!I highly recommend this book, especially for those interested in a career of military nursing, or students of WW2 history.

Some good personal stories about a group of forgotten heroes but the book gets very repetitive as you go through it, I read about half and then put it down

Evelyn Monahan's and Rosemary Neidel-Greenlee's AND IF I PERISH is an exceptional—I am tempted to say 'must-read'—book for two reasons.First, the story of U.S. Army nurses in World War II's European theatre is largely an untold tale. Who knew that these women, for whose work almost no forethought paved the way, played such a critical role in the Allied forces' campaigns in North Africa and Europe? Once told, the story seems inevitable. Yet it is alarming how much one can read about and ponder World War II history without ever giving a thought to the *nurses* who saved so many lives and provided final comfort to those whose bodies could not be repaired.Second, the story is told in exceptional style. The authors weave in military strategy in unexpected volumes, which provides a welcome context for the self-sacrificing labor of this nearly all-volunteer cadre of frontline nurses. One of the book's virtues is that it is not a 'soft' history over against the 'hard' history of soldiers and generals. The result is compelling history and a very fine read.I purchased and read this book as a small means of honoring the legacy of a nurse from my Pennsylvania hometown who died on the Anzio beach head. The poignantly tragic way in which Carrie Sheetz and too many others died is told movingly in these pages.Others lived, who perhaps reluctantly and nearly always self-effacingly relieved themselves of the burden they carried in late-in-life interviews with the authors.The Greatest Generation was comprised of both genders. We have grown to know and honor the stories of the generation's soldiering men. We are only learning the deep debt we owe to our mothers and grandmothers. Sisters and daughters belonging to that same generation, they are no less great for the shadow in which they labored, sacrificed, died, and healed.

At last, the story of American military nurses who served our country during WW II is being told. This in an amazing account of the critical work these U.S. Army Nurse Corps women performed throughout the European and North African battles of WW II. Their selfless contributions to saving the lives of American and Allied troops have never been described as vividly or as accurately. They worked under unbelievable conditions on or near the front lines, waded ashore under fire with the allied soldiers in the landings in North Africa, at Anzio, and 2 days after D-Day at Normandy, kept their hospitals running and cared for the thousands of sick and wounded, assisted in the OR as bombs exploded and shrapnel flew--often for two or three days with scarcely an hour's break every 12 or 16 hours. Many of these nurses were wounded and significant numbers were killed in action, as well. And all this was done with little acknowledgement of these women by the U.S. government. As women, they were ranked as "relative" officers (mostly 2nd lieutenants and for the duration of the war, only) at half the pay and almost none of the benefits of a regular equivalent male army officer. On return to the U.S. after the war, they were almost completely ignored by the V.A. and by the military.I found this book fascinating and almost impossible to put down. Having served as a nurse in Vietnam during the height of the war, I especially appreciate the detail provided in this book, which includes stories of individual nurses as well as several different unit/organizational hospitals and surgical teams. I now understand how little appreciation or recognition they received and am deeply saddened that many/most of them are now gone and that it is too late for us to tell them how grateful we are for their amazing service and contributions.Everyone should read this book to gain a better historical perspective of World War II and the American nurses who did so much to help us win and end that horrible war. M. Mullin

Wow, what a book but I must warn, some parts are so graphic and horrific that you can't read a lot of it at once. I definitely would recommend it! Makes me ashamed that from time to time I whined because I didn't get a break or lunch at work....

The bravery of frontline U.S. Army nurses that was unknown back home. Their actions and bravery as women would have shocked the population back home when women weren’t expected do do such things.Personal interviews of these brave women make this an exciting read. Some made the ultimate sacrifice and didn’t come home.

This book is about American women nurses in the European theater of World War II. It has both succinct history of American battles as well as the stories of the nurses who took care of our wounded soldiers. I had no idea that American nurses served so closely to the front lines. This was a fascinating read.

Item was as described and arrived promptly

I learned more about what my father went through than he could ever tell me. It gave me back my Dad as well as a lot more respect, because I can now understand what that horrid war turned men and women into. It took women of courage to tell the truth about the war. an excellent read, it was honest about America's participation in the war, unlike "hero" movies and my admiration for those women who served is boundless.

Magnífico libro y en perfectas condiciones