Willa Lucille Hook Suess was born on July 27, 1912. She was the daughter of William L. Hook and Abby Jane Reser Hook. Willa served in the US Army as a Second Lieutenant during World War II. She was one of the "Angels of Bataan and Corregidor” – the US Army and Navy Nurse Corps women who served in the Battle of the Philippines in 1941-42. When Bataan and Corregidor fell, 11 Navy nurses, 66 army nurses, and 1 nurse-anesthetist were captured and imprisoned in and around Manila. They continued to serve as nurses in various POW camps until they were finally liberated in February 1945. Willa died on July 5, 1987 at the age of 74 and is now buried in the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas, USA.