As American soldiers fought to stave off a German offensive in the Ardennes Forest of Belgium, Muriel Engelman and her fellow Army nurses worked in snow, ice and ankle-high mud, tending to wounded GIs during one of the bloodiest battles of World War II.

For more than two months, starting before the Battle of the Bulge commenced in December 1944 and continuing through the New Year, they faced a near-constant barrage of German attacks, with V-1 buzz bombs exploding every 15 minutes, day and night. Nazi planes strafed the field hospital, and the camp was hit three times by bombs even thought its tents were painted with large red crosses.