Fearless Presence: The Story of Lt. Col. Nola Forrest, Who Led the Army Nurses through Heat, Rain, Mud, and Enemy Fire in World War II

Eleanor Stoddard
American Literary Press (2006)
ISBN 1561679461
Reviewed by A.J. Cooper for Reader Views (2/07)

"Fearless Presence" is a story of World War II and the years just prior to the war from the view of a nurse, Nola Forrest. She was born in Minnesota but wanted so much more than to stay there. Nola Forrest wanted the opportunity to travel and see the world. She was given the opportunity while in college; she was recruited to go to nursing school against the wishes of her family. They felt it would be a terribly hard life that she was not accustomed to and tried everything in their powers to dissuade her from the path of nursing.

The beginning of Nola's career with the army was when she entered the Army Nurse Corps Reserve in 1924. The nurses' had the same ranks as their male counter parts but received much lower pay. This did not stop Nola from taking the position. The story follows Nola all over the United States and abroad highlighting many of the positions she held in nursing and in administering nurses. Nola is also given a permanent position in the Army Nurse Corps and finally in 1942 the ranks of the woman and men in the Army are equal pay. She was sent to the Southwest Pacific Area to oversee operations and to ensure nurses taken care of properly. What she found was nurses trying to perform their duties in less than manageable circumstances with little or no personal supplies in most areas. During this time period nurses were taken as Prisoners of War in one of history’s worst camps in the Philippines, Bataan and Corregidor.

I think anyone that has an interest in history would be interested in this book. Learning of the nurses taken as Prisoners of War was shocking to me. I only remember hearing about all of the men interned but certainly not the women. I took for granted that nurses had always been a part of wars and did not realize that for years nurses did not play an important part at the war fronts to help save the troops. Because of World War II it was shown that women nurses could survive and perform just as well as the men at the front under terrible conditions. They faced diseases that soldiers had not faced before and did everything in their power to ensure every soldier was taken care of.

I really enjoyed this book and was glad that I had the opportunity to not only learn something new, but to learn about an admirable person, Lt. Col. Nola Forrest. She led a full and rewarding life and it took a considerate person to take the time to research and follow-up with the Colonel. I would recommend “Fearless Presence” to anyone and look forward to sharing it with family and friends. This is not only a story of a determined person but a very determined woman who really cared about everyone around her.

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