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Hattie R. Brantley 'HR' |
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Engagements: • World War II (1941 - 1945) |
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Biography: | ||||
Hattie R. "H.R." Brantley Hattie Brantley was born on 4 April 1916 in Jefferson, TX. Brantley, known as "H.R." to friends and family alike, might have developed her stamina as a child growing up on a farm near Jefferson. She worked as hard as any of her brothers on the 112 acres, said her youngest brother, Stanford Brantley, knowing all the while that she would one day become a nurse. After obtaining her nursing degree at Baylor University, H.R. joined the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. In 1942, she was a Lieutenant and nurse serving in the Philippines Islands when the Japanese attacked and invaded. She was evacuated to the fortified island of Corregidor and escaped the horrors of the Bataan Death March. But she was evacuated to the prison camp at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila where most of her days were spent caring for fellow prisoners, including survivors of the death march and Japanese abuses. H.R. saw to it they had the best care she could possibly give them. H.R. survived an agonizing two years, 10 months and 27 days as a prisoner of war. "She was a GI's nurse all the way," said Stanford. "She enjoyed working in a military hospital and taking care of the GIs. She felt they deserved the best comfort and care available and did her best to give it to them. Her priority was good medical care for the GI." When she retired from the Army in 1969 as a Lieutenant Colonel after nearly 30 years of service, she was the last Army prisoner of war nurse from World War II in uniform. She was known as the "Angel of Bataan." Death and Burial Lieutenant Colonel Hattie Brantley, the "Angel of Bataan" died on 20 September 2006 in Jefferson, TX. She is buried at New Prospect Cemetery in Jefferson. |
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Origin of Nickname/Handle: | ||||
"H.R." was simply her first and middle initials. |
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Honoree ID: 2280 | Created by: MHOH |