[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5309]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING MILDRED MANNING

  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, 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.
  Despite these trials, Lieutenant Manning and her fellow nurses 
remained fiercely dedicated to providing medical care to those around 
them. For 2\1/2\ years, they maintained strict order, wore uniforms, 
and cared for their fellow prisoners. For their efforts, she and her 
fellow nurses earned the moniker, ``Angels of the Pacific.'' Upon their 
return to the U.S. in 1945, Mrs. Manning and her fellow nurses were 
honored by President Roosevelt with the Bronze Star Medal and a 
Presidential Unit Citation.
  We are all so grateful for Mildred Manning's service. Her legacy will 
live on in our Nation's history, reminding us of the horrors of war and 
of the bravery of the special people who persevere by helping others. 
Mrs. Manning's unwavering dedication to serving our Nation in the midst 
of hardship continues to inspire me, and I am honored to commemorate 
her today.

                          ____________________