From collection Person List
Lt. Beulah “Peggy” Greenwalt was one of the fewer than 7,000 nurses on active duty when the United States entered World War II. She was a general duty nurse stationed at Sternberg Hospital in the Philippines when the Japanese began bombing on 8 December 1941. Lt. Greenwalt and her fellow nurses quickly found themselves practicing combat medicine in a war zone. When Manila fell, Lt. Greenwalt retreated with the American and Filipino troops to the Bataan peninsula. The nurses worked in what would come to be known as Jungle Hospital #1 and #2, then moved on to the Malinta Tunnel on Corregidor Island. Lt. Greenwalt had a camera and snapped some amazing photos of the journey ashore and the destruction of Corregidor. When General Wainwright surrendered on 6 May 1942, Major Frank Kriwanek handed Lt. Greenwalt the 12th Quartermaster (PS) Regimental Colors and asked that she keep it safe. During her nearly three-year ordeal at the Santo Tomas Internment Camp, Lt. Greenwalt was able to keep the hidden camera and film, as well as the flag, safe from her captors. Eventually, all 77 Army and Navy nurses, the largest group of women POWs in U.S. history, were liberated. After they were released from imprisonment and returned to the States, Major Kriwanek and Nurse Greenwalt reunited in St. Louis. The flag was presented back to Frank Kriwanek at a meeting of the American Legion in St. Louis in October 1945.
Related Items
Nurses' Quarters (7)
In her notes, Peggy Greenwalt writes, "Ruins of the nurses' quarters." This photo was taken while Greenwalt was a Prisoner of War.
12th Quartermaster Regiment Flag
This flag served as the official colors of the 12th Quartermaster Regiment serving in the Philippines during World War II.
Letter from Peggy Greenwalt Walcher to Kathy Stroh Mendoza
Walcher writes to Mendoza after having worked with her on an audiovisual project about women Prisoners of War during WWII for the federal government. The letter reads as follows, "Kathy, Byron Morgan asked me to send you these pictures. I …
The Hospital (6)
In her notes, Peggy Greenwalt writes, "The hospital." This photograph was taken while Greenwalt was a Prisoner of War.
Waiting for Signal (2)
In her notes, Peggy Greenwalt writes, "Taken between 9:00am and 12:00 noon, April 9, 1942, while the nurses waited in Manila Bay for the all clear signal on Corregidor so that we could go ashore. We had been waiting all night getting out o…
Corregidor (9)
In her notes, Peggy Greenwalt writes, "Corregidor with Malinta Hill (where the tunnels were) in the distance." The photo was taken while Greenwalt was a Prisoner of War.
Docks (3)
In her notes, Peggy Greenwalt writes, "The dock area and the nurses hurrying to the tunnel, April 9, 1942"
Enlisted Men's Barracks (11)
In her notes, Peggy Greenwalt writes, "The enlisted men's barracks." The photo was taken while Greenwalt was a Prisoner of War.
