I was angered by Margaret E. Guest's letter (Letters, January) insinuating that Dr. Anna Pou and nurses Lori Budo and Cheri Landry were less than heroes because they don't fit her idealistic views of the nurses on Bataan during World War II. As a nurse who worked during Katrina's aftermath, I was fortunate to be 70 miles away from New Orleans. We helped the evacuees who were brought here, and the accommodations were terrible. It was hot, people were sick all around us, and we were exhausted and emotional wrecks from seeing this degree of human suffering. At least we got to leave and go home, away from it all-to our "regular" lives. The pitiable folks in those hospitals couldn't. If I or any of my relatives are ever in that terrible situation, I only pray that someone as dedicated to life as those nurses and that physician are there to take care of us. No one should judge them. I do not have all the answers. I can only say that I got just a small taste of what was happening in New Orleans-to the patients and the staff.

Baton Rouge, LA