Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Ruby Bradley (December 19, 1907 – May 28, 2002) was a United States Army Nurse Corps officer, a prisoner of the Japanese in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and one of the most decorated women in the United States military. She was a native of Spencer, West Virginia but lived in

Falls Church, Virginia Falls Church is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is included in the Wash ...

, for over 50 years.

Military career

Bradley entered the United States Army Nurse Corps as a

surgical nurse A surgical nurse, also referred to as a theatre nurse or scrub nurse, specializes in perioperative care, providing care to patients before, during and after surgery. To become a theatre nurse, Registered Nurses or Enrolled Nurses must complete e ...

in 1934. She was serving at

Camp John Hay Camp John Hay is a mixed-used development which serves as a tourist destination and forest watershed reservation in Baguio, Philippines which was formerly a military base of the United States Armed Forces. History The United States 48th Infa ...

in the Philippines when she was captured by the Japanese army three weeks after the attack on

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

on December 7, 1941. In 1943, Bradley was moved to the Santo Tomas Internment Camp in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. It was there that she and several other imprisoned nurses earned the title "Angels in Fatigues" from fellow captives. For the next several months, she provided medical help to the prisoners and sought to feed starving children by shoving food into her pockets whenever she could, often going hungry herself. As she lost weight, she used the room in her uniform for smuggling surgical equipment into the prisoner-of-war camp. At the camp she assisted in 230 operations and helped to deliver 13 children. When United States troops captured the camp on February 3, 1945, Bradley weighed only . She was then returned to the United States where she continued her career in the army. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

in 1949. Bradley served in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

as Chief Nurse for the 171st Evacuation Hospital. In November 1950, during the Chinese counter-offensive, she refused to leave until she had loaded the sick and wounded onto a plane in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

while surrounded by 100,000 advancing Chinese soldiers. She was able to jump aboard the plane just as her ambulance exploded from an enemy shell. In 1951, she was named Chief Nurse for the Eighth Army, where she supervised over 500 Army nurses throughout Korea. Bradley was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1958 and retired from the army in 1963.

Later life

Bradley was the subject of a February 23, 2000 '' NBC Nightly News'' report by Tom Brokaw about the forgotten heroes of the military. After her death in 2002 Bradley was also the recipient of a memorial resolution, drafted by Congressman

Joe Baca Joseph Natalio Baca Sr. (born January 23, 1947) is an American Democratic politician who served as the U.S. representative for southwestern San Bernardino County (including Fontana, Rialto, Ontario and parts of the city of San Bernardino) from ...

of California, regarding her exemplary service to this nation.

Awards

Bradley's military record included 19 separate decorations, medals and ribbons. These included: *

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

with oak leaf cluster *

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

with oak leaf cluster * Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster * Prisoner of War Medal * Presidential Unit Citation with oak leaf cluster *

Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or s ...

American Defense Service Medal The American Defense Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces, established by , by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on June 28, 1941. The medal was intended to recognize those military service members who had served ...

with "Foreign Service" clasp *

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...

* Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two

campaign star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

s * World War II Victory Medal * Army of Occupation Medal with "Japan" clasp * National Defense Service Medal with star * Korean Service Medal with three campaign stars * Philippine Defense Medal (Republic of Philippines) with star * Philippine Liberation Medal (Republic of Philippines) with star *

Philippine Independence Medal The Philippine Independence Medal is a military award and decoration of the Republic of the Philippines which was created by order of the Philippine Army Headquarters on 3 July 1946 as the Philippine Independence Ribbon. The medal was added in 196 ...

(Republic of Philippines) *

United Nations Service Medal The United Nations Service Medal for Korea (UNKM) is an international military decoration established by the United Nations on December 12, 1950 as the United Nations Service Medal. The decoration was the first international award ever created by t ...

Korean War Service Medal The Korean War Service Medal (KWSM, ko, 6.25사변종군기장, ), also known as the Republic of Korea War Service Medal (ROKWSM), is a military award of South Korea which was first authorized in December 1950. History 6.25 Incident Participati ...

(Republic of Korea) * Florence Nightingale Medal ( International Red Cross)

Dates of rank

*2nd Lieutenant (relative rank) – 16 October 1934 *1st Lieutenant ( AUS) – 18 February 1945 *Captain (AUS) – 27 October 1945 *Captain ( RA) – 19 August 1947 (to rank from 19 December 1942) *Major (RA) – 15 May 1950 *Lieutenant Colonel (RA) – 23 July 1952 *Colonel (RA) – 4 March 1958

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley, Ruby 1907 births 2002 deaths World War II prisoners of war held by Japan United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Army officers Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Recipients of the Legion of Merit American prisoners of war in World War II United States Army Nurse Corps officers Female United States Army nurses in World War II Women in warfare post-1945 Women in war in East Asia People from Spencer, West Virginia People from Falls Church, Virginia Florence Nightingale Medal recipients Nurses from Virginia Nurses from West Virginia