 Tropical diseases, including malaria and dysentery, were widespread among both hospital patients and staff.Just prior to the fall of Bataan on 9 April 1942, the nurses serving there were ordered to the island fortress of Corregidor by General Wainwright (commander of the forces in the Philippines after MacArthur was ordered to Australia).During the Battle of Corregidor, the nurses were stationed in the hospital and wards in the maze of tunnels connected to the Malinta Tunnel.