When We Had Wings

Los Baños Prison Camp, Laguna Province, May 1943

Nurses and soldiers are transported by cattle car and then made to walk through the jungle. Japanese officers refuse them water. When they reach the grounds of the former school that will become the camp, they’re led to a baseball field, where they’re left to sleep on the ground with mosquitoes swarming. Eleanor knows that there’s no use in pointing out that this violates the Geneva Convention.

The camp has few supplies, so the nurses make do by repurposing anything they can scavenge. They barter their medical expertise with the Japanese for other resources. Rumors spread that they’ve been hidden away for use as a bargaining chip when the Americans arrive, and Eleanor tries not to imagine what life would be like if the Japanese won the war. Only thoughts of home and John Olson comfort her.

A new civilian American doctor arrives, Dr. Nance. He’s immediately called upon to help an ailing Japanese man. When he diagnoses appendicitis and the Japanese commandant wants to transport him to a real hospital, the doctor warns that he’ll die without immediate treatment. They agree to let him operate but say they’ll kill one of the nurses if the patient dies. The surgery is successful, but Laura Cobb warns the doctor that he must never again put her nurses at risk.

Manila, June 1943

Lita and Reyna work as civilian nurses at Philippine General Hospital. Lita overhears a Japanese soldier, Kenji Yamada, mumbling in English as he wakes from anesthesia, though he claims to speak only Japanese. She tricks Yamada into revealing that he understands English. He confesses that he’s “nisei,” or second generation, and was born in Canada to Japanese parents. His family had just returned to Japan when the war broke out and he was drafted. Lita asks how he can fight fellow Canadians, but he points out how Canada and the US have treated Japanese civilians: The government “rounded them up and stuck them in some filthy camp behind barbed wire” (220) after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. He begs Lita not to tell anyone his secret, and she promises not to.

A Filipino priest, Father Domingo, arrives looking for Dr. Alvarez, who isn’t there. Lita greets him, and he explains that he works with the Resistance; Santo Tomas needs medical supplies, and he asks Lita to smuggle for him. She agrees.

On their way home, Lita and Reyna see Dr. Alvarez on a platform in the street. He’s publicly executed by the Kempeitai, the Japanese military police, for collaborating with the Resistance. Knowing that she could meet the same fate by helping Father Domingo, Lita is terrified.

Santo Tomas Internment Camp, July 1943

The nurses are assigned a new living space, where Akibo is less likely to bother Penny. However, she wonders whether she’ll eventually be forced to accept his proposition to protect herself and Newt from the growing chaos in the camp. Newt brings news: The soldiers say that Commandant Tsurumi, who oversees the camp with “benign neglect,” is being replaced. The new commander, Kodaki, won’t be as forgiving.

Care packages arrive, and a man delivers a bag of coconuts to Penny. In a hollow coconut she finds a letter from Charley and a wad of cash. He and other officers found a stash of money while working to rebuild Malinta Tunnel for the Japanese, and he says he hopes it can do her some good, reiterating his promise to come back and claim a kiss. She realizes with gratitude that this will enable her to continue getting the things she and Newt need without Akibo.

Blanche Kimball is being transferred to Philippine General Hospital due to malaria, and Penny is her escort. In Blanche’s room, Penny sees her deck of cards and impulsively cuts it in half, revealing the eight of hearts. She puts the card in her pocket, where it will stay for the rest of the war.

On the way to the hospital, Father Domingo tells Penny that he requested her as Blanche’s escort because a friend told him that Penny is a person to trust; he asks if she’s willing to help move messages and money into camp. She agrees.

Philippine General Hospital, July 1943

Lita and Penny reunite. Knowing that Penny is working with Father Domingo, Lita feels she can fully commit to the cause. The women make plans to meet each other twice a week at the package line. In the meantime, Lita sends notes of encouragement to Lon at Bilibid to keep his spirits up. Father Domingo tells her Lon has been badly beaten and arranges to have her accompany a doctor to the prison so that she can visit him. After hours of surgeries, the priest takes Lita to Lon’s cell to “confirm his healing” (224). During their brief reunion, Lita makes Lon promise to get well and survive. She tells him that she loves him.

Los Baños Prison Camp, Laguna Province, October 1943

Eleanor is alarmed by the little news she hears from incoming prisoners and from a makeshift radio. Italy has surrendered, but the Japanese have executed POWs at Wake Island. She wishes for the simple pleasures of home.