Capt. Ann Bernatitus was a Navy nurse who was the first American recipient of the Legion of Merit, for her efforts during the siege of Bataan and Corregidor from December 1941 through April 1942. She was among the last group of the “Angels of Bataan” and was the only Navy nurse stationed there to evade capture. She retired from the nurse corps as a captain in 1959, and donated her Legion of Merit medal to the Smithsonian Institution in 1976. She passed away in 2003. A monument in her honor was dedicated June 23, 2007 at the Exeter Borough Building in her home town of Exeter, Pennsylvania.

Last Updated: 30 March 2023