Juanita Redmond Hipps

Lieutenant Colonel Juanita Redmond Hipps (July 1, 1912 – February 25, 1979) was a US Army nurse during World War II. She was present in the Philippines during the early part of the war and was regarded as one of the Angels of Bataan. A bestselling book she wrote about her experiences formed the background for the 1943 war movie So Proudly We Hail! Hipps helped to establish the United States Air Force's flight nurse programme. She remained with the army until her retirement in 1969 and travelled the world on postings alongside her husband, a US Air Force general. The US Air Force Association's highest award for nursing is named in her honor.

Early life
Hipps was born in Swansea, South Carolina on July 1, 1912. She trained as a nurse at the South Carolina State Hospital and joined the United States Army Nurse Corps in 1936. She was posted to Manila in the Philippines in 1939.

World War II
After the 1941 outbreak of war between Japan and the United States, Hipps was posted to Bataan and Corregidor where she became known as one of the Angels of Bataan during the war's early months. Unlike most of the nurses in the Philippines, she was evacuated to Australia with seven of her colleagues prior to the Japanese occupation. During the remainder of the war, Hipps served in the United States to promote war bond drives and to boost the recruitment of nurses. She was one of the first nurses to be awarded gold flight wings and also helped to establish the United States Army Air Corps flight nurse programme. Hipps wrote the book I Served on Bataan about her experiences in the Philippines, which became a bestseller in 1943 and helped inspire the war movie So Proudly We Hail! By May 13, 1944 she was a major. In the course of her service she was awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, three Presidential Unit Citations and campaign ribbons for the United States and Philippines.

Post-war
Hipps married United States Army Air Forces officer William Grover Hipps in 1946 and they would go on to have a son and two grandchildren. William was later promoted to general rank and Juanita followed him on postings around the US, Iran and the Far East. In 1955 she was living in Okinawa, Japan where she became interested in Japanese culture and was an avid collector of antiques. In 1958 she was living with her husband in Redlands, California. Juanita retired from the army in 1969. She died at her home in St. Petersburg, Florida on February 25, 1979, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. The US Air Force Association presents the Juanita Redmond Award, their highest nursing award, in her memory.