WW II Nurses Turned Prisoners of War | Captured | 2

Against The Odds

Audible

History, Society & Culture, Atmos, Mike Corey, Cassie De Pecol, Dolby, Dolby Atmos

4.7 • 7.9K Ratings

🗓️ 14 April 2026

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

After Japan invades the Philippines, the twelve Navy nurses find themselves imprisoned at a military hospital turned P.O.W. camp. They make the best of it, continuing to tend to their patients, confident that the American military will quickly defeat Japan and liberate them. But as the weeks drag into months, with no rescue in sight, the nurses are transferred to another camp. They soon discover that their new home is led by a sadistic commandant who likes nothing more than to make his prisoners miserable.

Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of Against the Odds ad-free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of Against the Odds ad-free right now.
0:05.3	Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app.
0:08.5	A listener note, Against the Odds uses dramatizations that are based on true events.
0:14.5	Some elements, including dialogue, may be invented, but everything is based on research.
0:34.6	Thank you. invented, but everything is based on research. United States Navy nurse Laura Cobb squints into the sun as hundreds of Japanese soldiers streamed by her. As frightened as she feels, she almost wants to laugh. This conquering
0:40.3	army is arriving not in tanks or trucks, but on bicycles. The young Japanese soldiers look
0:47.2	like paper boys as they pedal past, with satchels slung over their shoulders. Almost innocent, except for one menacing touch. The long
0:58.2	rifles tipped with glistening bayonets. It's New Year's Day, 1942. Cobb and her fellow
1:06.8	Navy nurses are standing in front of the administration building at Santa Scholastica, a women's college in the outskirts of Manila. It's been converted into a military
1:16.5	hospital, and Cobb and the other nurses were recently transferred there. Until last month,
1:22.9	they were stationed at a nearby naval base. But shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the base was bombed.
1:30.5	A week ago, the American military pulled out of most of the Philippines, lacking the power
1:35.5	to defend the island chain, essentially ceding the territory to Japan.
1:41.0	Cobb and her crew assumed they'd be evacuated out of the Philippines.
1:49.6	Instead, the nurses were transferred to this military hospital at Santa Scholastica.
1:52.0	The implication is clear.
1:58.6	Cobb and all the other Navy personnel had been abandoned, left to fend for themselves.
2:06.6	Even worse, the other military clinics in Manila are transferring their sickest and most injured patients here, patients who are impossible to move.
2:08.6	The nurses have been taking care of 160 patients, a mixture of soldiers, sailors, and civilians.
2:20.5	A cheer interrupts Cobb's thoughts.
2:25.2	She turns her head to watch a car festooned with Japanese flags pull up to the Japanese embassy down the block.
2:28.7	A crowd of several hundred is gathered around the gates.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Audible, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Audible and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.