Bertha Rae Evans St. Pierre was born on October 9, 1904 in Portland, Oregon. She joined the US Navy in 1931 as a nurse. She was stationed in San Diego in 1934-35. At the beginning of WWII she was stationed in Manila, Philippine Islands, and was taken prisoner by the Japanese. She was held at Santo Tomas and Los Bagnos. Bertha 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. She retired from the Navy 30 Nov 1955 as a Commander in the Naval Nurse Corps with the honorary rank of Captain. Her current burial place is unknown.