When We Had Wings: A Novel

When We Had Wings follows three nurses stationed in the Philippines during World War II: Eleanor Lindstrom, a U.S. Navy nurse; Penny Franklin, a U.S. Army nurse; and Lita Capel, a Filipina nurse. In 1941, the three meet at the Army Navy Club in Manila and form a friendship, each seeking to escape their past. As war engulfs the Philippine Islands, they are forced to serve under combat conditions. When the U.S. military loses control of the islands to the Imperial Japanese Army, the nurses become prisoners of war—among the first female prisoners of World War II. They endure squalid conditions, food shortages, and treatment that violates the Geneva Convention. Throughout their captivity, the women rely on their friendship and resilience to sustain hope for themselves and fellow inmates. Based on the true experiences of nurses known as "the Angels of Bataan," this novel weaves together the stories of three women as they navigate the darkest days of the war in the Pacific.