When We Had Wings

Santo Tomas Internment Camp, Manila, May 1943

Penny confesses to Eleanor that she kissed Charley Russell and feels guilty for betraying her husband. Eleanor says he would want her to be happy, but Penny says it would be too much for her to lose two men in one lifetime. She confides in Eleanor about her daughter’s death.

The camp is full of “war orphans,” children who were separated from their living parents. Newt, a 10-year-old girl, follows Penny everywhere. Penny tries to resist but can’t help caring for the “incorrigible delight.” However, she’s upset when she learns that Newt is a pickpocket who steals from the Japanese guards.

Laura Cobb volunteered the Navy nurses to help set up a new internment camp, so Eleanor is leaving again. She and Penny agree that everyone must follow orders, even though Eleanor and the other Navy nurses feel that the government abandoned them during the evacuation of Manila.

After bidding Eleanor goodbye, Penny returns to her quarters to find Lieutenant Akibo. He proposes that she become his mistress in exchange for food and supplies. He warns that if she doesn’t agree, she and her friends (including Newt) will suffer because she has no power. Penny says she would rather have no power than no honor.