Florence Ebersole Smith: The Unsung Heroine of WWII

Florence Ebersole, born in 1915 in Santiago, Luzon, Philippines, would go on to become one of the unsung heroes of World War II, embodying courage, resourcefulness, and the spirit of resistance in the face of overwhelming odds. 

Her actions during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, which included vital support for the Philippine resistance, helped pave the way for the eventual liberation of her fellow Americans and Filipinos.

As a woman working behind enemy lines, Florence Finch's story is one of quiet but unwavering bravery and self-sacrifice, a testament to the strength of character and patriotism that defines true American heroes.

Born to a Filipino mother and an American father who had served in the Spanish-American War, Florence’s early life was marked by a blend of cultures. After finishing high school, she began working for the U.S.

Army’s military intelligence division in the capital, Manila. Her role involved taking shorthand and transcribing documents for the military, a position that would unknowingly set the stage for her pivotal involvement in the underground resistance against the Japanese.

It was here that Florence met her first husband, Charles Edward Smith, a U.S. sailor. They married in August 1941, just months before the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which would thrust the U.S. into the Pacific War.

When war was declared between the United States and Japan on December 8, 1941, the Japanese invasion of the Philippines began almost immediately. Within weeks, Florence's life would change drastically. On Christmas Day 1941, all American military personnel were ordered to evacuate, and the U.S. Army Intelligence Office in Manila began packing its valuables and preparing for an uncertain future.

The Japanese forces were closing in, and there was no time to waste. However, Florence made the courageous decision to remain behind in Manila to care for her 16-year-old sister, despite the grave danger that lay ahead.

As Japanese forces advanced and captured Manila in early January 1942, Florence hid her American citizenship to avoid being arrested by the invading forces. Instead, she convinced the Japanese military that she was Filipino by nationality, a claim that, while partially true, saved her from immediate detention.

The Japanese, unaware of her true identity and her previous work with U.S. military intelligence, assigned her a relatively benign task: transcribing names on ration cards. Little did they know, they had handed over a powerful tool to someone with deep ties to the American resistance.

Florence’s hatred for the Japanese invaders grew as she learned that her husband, Charles Edward Smith, had been killed in action while fighting the Japanese in February 1942. Motivated by a desire for justice and revenge, she became involved with the Filipino resistance movement.

She was tasked with a simple yet critical role: forging fuel ration cards. This task might have seemed mundane, but it provided a perfect cover for her to pass vital supplies, such as food and medicine, to American and Allied prisoners of war (POWs) held in Japanese camps. The resistance used these ration cards to distribute supplies and even used her forged documents to help prisoners escape from their captors.

As Florence continued to assist the resistance, her activities did not go unnoticed. She helped rescue POWs, eliminate land mines, and root out Japanese spies hiding in the Filipino population.

By the fall of 1943, her covert actions had made her a marked woman. In 1944, after being caught smuggling food and medicine to American POWs at the Bilibid prison, Florence was arrested by the Japanese military. Her arrest marked the beginning of a series of horrifying experiences that would test her resolve in ways she could never have imagined.

Florence was interrogated, tortured, and held captive by the Japanese. Despite the brutal treatment she endured, including electric shocks to her fingers and the constant threat of death, she never revealed any information to her captors. The pain of torture, the fear of execution, and the trauma of knowing that she could betray the lives of others never broke her spirit.

Florence was eventually sentenced to three years of hard labor at a Japanese prison camp in Mandaluyong, just outside Manila. She was liberated by American forces on February 10, 1945, at the age of 30, and was found to weigh only 36 kilograms (80 pounds) from the ordeal she had suffered.

After the war, Florence returned to the United States and resumed her life, but the scars of her experiences remained with her. She married Robert Finch, a former military man, and settled in Ithaca, New York, where she lived a quiet life as a mother and a secretary at Cornell University.

To the people around her, she was just another neighbor, a mother, and a wife. Yet Florence was far from ordinary. She had served her country and its allies with exceptional courage and strength during one of the most harrowing periods in modern history.

Florence's wartime contributions went largely unrecognized for many years, but as time passed, her story began to surface. In the 1990s, the U.S. government recognized Florence’s bravery and her critical role in supporting the Philippine resistance during the Japanese occupation. She was honored as one of the first women to be awarded the Asian-Pacific Campaign Medal for her wartime service.

In 1995, she was recognized by the U.S. Coast Guard, which named a building on Sand Island in Hawaii after her. Additionally, Florence became one of the first women to receive the Pacific-Asian Campaign Medal, a reflection of her invaluable service during the war.

Florence Finch passed away in 1995 at the age of 80, leaving behind a legacy of bravery, selflessness, and devotion to her country. She lived through a time of unimaginable hardship, yet her actions during World War II stand as a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the unyielding resolve of the American people.

Florence’s story, though lesser-known, is a shining example of the many unsung heroes who played crucial roles in securing victory in the Pacific Theater and beyond.

Her remarkable contributions are a reminder that heroism comes in many forms, and sometimes the greatest acts of bravery come not from the battlefield, but from the quiet, often overlooked resistance movements that played a crucial part in the Allied victory.

Florence Finch’s courage continues to inspire, proving that even in the darkest times, there are individuals who will stand up and fight for what is right, regardless of the personal cost.