|
Ethel ???Sally??? Blaine Millett,
An Angel of Bataan
 
Captain Ethel ???Sally??? Blaine Millett, age 90, died on
Tuesday, March 8, 2005, in San Antonio, TX. She was one of
Scotland County??™s own who served her country well. Sally
was born in Bible Grove Missouri, on February 19, 1915. She
was the tenth of thirteen children born to William and Alta
Blaine.
Sally was one of the 86 nurses that were later designated
???Angels of Bataan???, that were captured and held as POWs.
Sally was held captive by the Japanese in the Philippines
for more than 30 months.
Ethel
???Sally??? Millett was preceded in death by her husband, Col
George V. Millett, Jr.
Sally is survived by sons, George V. Millett, III, DDS and
wife, Ann of San Antonio, TX and William M. Millett and
wife, Marisa of Clinton, MD; step daughter, Nancy V.
Zellanick and husband, Robert of Escondido, CA;
grandchildren, Shay Castilla, Ryan Millett, Angela,
Antionette and Mario Millett and Rebecca Griswald; brothers
and sisters, Verlee Blaine, Millard Blaine, Madeline
Phillips and Maxine Brewer; 4 step grandchildren; 8 great
grandchildren; numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Sally graduated from nursing school in San Diego, CA, and
was stationed in the Philippines before WWII began, having
arrived there in June of 1941. Pearl Harbor was bombed on
December 7, 1941, and the very next day Sally??™s base was
also being bombed. The nurses were ordered to evacuate and
they arrived in Bataan to work in a jungle hospital that
consisted of beds outside on the ground.
There were around 2000 casualties in all. Sally once
commented that it was much like the scene in ???Gone With The
Wind??? where the ground was covered with wounded soldiers
lying on their coats or whatever was available. Sally was
in charge of a ward of 400 patients but there were only
about 200 beds so half of them were made as comfortable as
possible on the ground. There were soldiers who were shot
and some paralyzed while others had broken bones. Sally
only had one nurse working under her for all of these
patients.
It wasn??™t long before the enemy advanced and the day before
the fall of Bataan, the nurses were ordered to Coregidor.
However, they had to surrender to the Japanese because
American troops were exhausted and starving. The nurses
were taken by the Japanese to an internment camp in Manila
and they were held captive until they were liberated by
American troops in February of 1945. Sally was held captive
for 30 and a half months under very harsh conditions. The
prisoners worked long shifts and had little to eat. They
had a very small ration of rice each day that was full of
worms and Sally said that the nurses would pick out the
worms but the men ate the worms because they were so
hungry. In the evenings they sometimes were given a stew
that was mostly water but had a few vegetables that had a
slimey consistency.
The prisoners all lost weight and suffered from malnutrition
and many contracted malaria and other tropical diseases.
Sally??™s mother did not know where she was during the time
that she a prisoner of war until shortly before the war
ended. Sally often said that it was thoughts of her mother
that got her through the terrible ordeal. She would think
about how strong, courageous, and full of grit her mother
was and determined to be like her.
Finally, one day American tanks knocked down the gates and
liberated the camp. Sally later became friends with Irvin
Johnston, another Scotland County serviceman, who was one of
the American soldiers who liberated her and other POWs that
day.
All of the nurses had managed to survive captivity and
received Bronze Stars for meritorious service and also were
given a one step promotion.
While recuperating back in the states, Sally met George Van
Millett Jr., a commander of a Paratroop Regiment during the
Normandy invasion who was also recuperating from being held
in a German POW camp. The romance led to marriage and later
Col. Millett was a military Attache??™ in Beirut, Lebanon and
Ammon, Jordon. Sally assisted him with the diplomatic
community for the US government until his death in 1955.
The couple had two sons, George and William who also later
served in the military.
Sally went on to earn a political science degree from
Washburn University in Kansas, she began there as a freshman
when her son was a senior.
Sally was also featured in a book entitled, We Band of
Angels by Elizabeth Norman about the nurses held captive
in Bataan.
Sally was a member of such organizations as The American
Legion,VFW, and Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor. She was
honored on numerous occasions by the Army Nurse Corps.
Ethel ???Sally??? Blaine Millett received 10 medals in addition
to her Bronze Star but she said that her favorite medal was
the one she received recongition for in 1988, which was her
Prisoner of War medal.
She served her country well and she will be sadly missed by
her family and friends
Funeral
services were held March 12, 2005, in San Antonio, Tx.
Buriel will be in April in Arlington Cemetery where she will
be buried next to her husband and she will receive full
military rites.
In lieu of
flowers, memorial contributions may be made to
Women??™s Memorial, Dept. 560,
Washington, D.C. 20042-0560
Information compiled
by Pamela Blaine
March 2005 |
