The Flight Nurses’ War

The unsung story of heroic World War II combat nurses sent into the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa to save thousands of American soldiers and Marines

The Pacific Theater was the setting for some of World War II’s bloodiest battles, and yet much of its history remains untold. As the war in Europe was winding down, fierce Japanese resistance and mounting casualties slowed the US advance toward Japan. The terrible death toll of doctors, medics, and corpsmen forced the United States Navy to deploy combat nurses to contested airfields, where they triaged desperately wounded men and evacuated them to safety.

In The Flight Nurses’ War, award-winning historian Leah Garrett traces the lives of eight nurses from their small-town origins to the devastation of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. They risked their lives on rickety, unpressurized aircraft and braved constant enemy assaults. As the battles intensified, Army nurses were also deployed to hospital ships and the infantry front- line, where they endured disease, snipers, and Kamikazes. Successfully evacuating thousands of wounded men from danger, the combat nurses freed up troops to secure both islands and help win the war.

Uncovering an extraordinary story of Second World War heroism, The Flight Nurses’ War powerfully brings to life the remarkable women who risked everything to save lives and assure America’s success in the Pacific campaign.