May 6, 1942⏤The guns of Corregidor fell silent. Lt. General Jonathan Wainwright IV, in order to save lives, reluctantly decided to surrender the rest of the Philippines to the Japanese. As the American and Filipino soldiers awaited orders, the Army and Navy nurses⏤later dubbed as the Angels of Bataan and Corregidor⏤still cared for the wounded at the underground hospital.

Before the Japanese started evacuating everyone from the Malinta Tunnel, Major Frank Kriwanek, an officer of the Ft. Mills Quartermaster Depot, handed one of the Army nurses, 1st Lt. Beulah “Peggy” Greenwalt, the 12th Quartermaster (PS) Regimental Colors. He asked that she keep it safe.

When the war started, Lt. Greenwalt was assigned to Ft. Mills, Corregidor and remained there after the 12th Quartermaster (PS) surrendered to the Japanese on April 8, 1942.

She knew the colors “represent the soul of a regiment and that they could serve as a symbol for resistance.” [2] She quickly folded it up and wrapped it around her shoulders.

Soon, the Japanese began to take the Filipino and American soldiers as prisoners of war. At one point, a Japanese soldier started going through the nurses’ bags. He unfurled the silky, tan-colored, blue fringed cloth. He stared at the eagle and the insignia.

Lt. Greenwalt quickly grabbed the colors away from him wrapped it around her neck “as if it were a shawl and, with a bit of posturing and a little strut in her step, acted as if she were showing the guards the latest in women’s fashion. The impromptu performance amused her captors…” [4]

She convincingly told that to her captives over and over again. The Japanese transported Peggy and her fellow Army and Navy nurses to Santo Tomas University in Manila, which was converted into a prisoner of war camp. Even though they lived on a very limited diet and denied all comforts, the Army and Navy nurses persevered, worked four-hour shifts every day, and continued to care for the other soldiers and civilians in the camp.[3] All the while, Lt. Greenwalt prevented the colors from being captured.

The U.S. Army liberated the Santo Tomas P.O.W. Camp in January 1945. After 33 months of captivity, Lt. Greenwalt sought out and found the 12th Quartermaster’s Regimental Commander, Col. Alfred S. Balsam. She handed over her “shawl” that she hid, protected, and cherished for all that time.

An angel truly saved the 12th Quartermaster’s (PS) Regimental Colors. She turned it into a true symbol of honor, resistance, and resilience⏤epitomizing the spirit of the regiment and all those who fought on Bataan and Corregidor.

Sean Conejos is the National Secretary of the Philippine Scouts Heritage Society. He is also the Newsletter Editor of the American Society of Military Insignia Collectors (ASMIC). Special thanks to Luther Hanson and Phil Schneider of the U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum.

[1] U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps Historian Fort Lee, Virginia. “Honor Preserved at Corregidor.” Quartermaster Professional Bulletin, U.S. Army Quartermaster School and Center, Spring 1998, p. 9.

[2] U.S. Army. “The Leader and Leadership: What the Leader Must Be, Know, and Do.” Army Leadership, FM-22 100, Headquarters, Departments of the Army, 2012, pp. 2–11-2–12.

[3] Hanes, Elizabeth. “The Angels of Bataan and Corregidor: 70 Years Later.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 16 Apr. 2012, www.history.com/news/the-angels-of-bataan-and-corregidor-70-years-later.

[4] Elizabeth M. Norman. “We Band of Angels.” Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/we-band-of-angels/id441937833