"I had a job to do. I was a nurse."

Once again, the obituary page has taught me a history I did not know.  This time the history is of the  nurses taken prisoner by the Japanese after the fall of the Philippinesin 1941.  The last known survivor of that orderal  Mildred Dalton Manning, has died at age 98.  She was one of 77 military nurses captured when American forces surrendered to the Japanese.

Mrs. Manning spent three years as a prisoner of war during which she and her fellow nurses continued to perform their duties and maintained military order and discipline under difficult and extreme conditions.  All 77 survived the ordeal.  I have to think that their dedication to their duty is what saved them.

Godspeed, Mrs. Manning.