Honoring Some Amazing Ladies In Celebration Of Women’s History Month
Check Out Army Col. Ruby Bradley
In honor of Women’s History Month, I wanted to write a few short pieces over the next few weeks to showcase some amazing women.
These extraordinary women didn’t just break the glass ceiling, they shattered it.
They overcame adversity and paved the way so that you and I don’t have to. For that reason, I want to honor them to show my appreciation.
As a nurse, it’s only fitting that I chose another nurse to recognize. When most people think of a nurse, they immediately think of Florence Nightingale. While the lady with the lamp is very impressive as the founder of modern nursing, many others deserve recognition.
This is Army Col. Ruby Bradley.
As a U.S. Army Nurse Corps member, she retired as one of the most decorated women in U.S. military history. Bradley was also known as one of the “Angels in Fatigues” as she cared for hundreds of people as a prisoner of war during WWII.
Ruby Bradley was born in 1907 in Spencer, West Virginia. She first graduated college to become a teacher but then went back to become a nurse. In 1934 she joined the U.S. Army Nurse Corps as a surgical nurse at Walter Reed General Hospital.
By 1941, Bradley had taken an assignment overseas and was the head nurse at Camp John Hay in the Philippines. Three weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese attacked Camp John Hay.
Bradley and a fellow Army nurse tried to escape but stopped to help some civilian refugees at a logging camp.
On December 28th, 1941, both nurses were taken prisoner by the Japanese and placed in an internment camp at Camp John Hay. Bradley along with over 500 prisoners were crowded into one building.
In 1943, she was sent to the Santo Tomas Internment Camp in Manila where she finally rejoined her friends who were other captive nurses. Bradley and the other nurses immediately went to work caring for the sick people at the camp. They decided to work regular shifts and help people to pass the time.
Bradley provided regular medical care and frequently cared for the starving children. She often gave away what little food she had to the children.
As she lost weight, she smuggled surgical equipment and medical supplies in her loose uniform without the guards noticing. With these smuggled supplies, she performed 230 operations and delivered 13 babies.
The prisoners of the camp nicknamed the nurses the “Angels in Fatigues” because of all of the good they did.
On February 3rd, 1945, U.S. troops liberated the camp and promoted Bradly to first lieutenant. Upon returning to the U.S., she weighed 86 pounds.
Instead of leaving the service, she continued her Army career and received her bachelor’s degree in 1949.
During the Korean War, she held the position of chief nurse for the 171st evacuation hospital. On November 30, 1950, 100,000 Chinese soldiers were advancing and surrounding the hospital but Bradley would not leave until all her patients were evacuated.
She jumped aboard a plane as the ambulance she arrived in exploded from the enemy attack.
In 1951, she became Chief Nurse of the Eighth Army overseeing 500 army nurses throughout Korea.
By 1958, Bradley was promoted to Colonel. She finally retired from the Army in 1963 and became a civilian nurse for the remainder of her years. Bradley never married, stating that being a nurse was her passion.
She passed away in 2002 at the ripe old age of 95 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Ruby Bradley was fearless and the definition of selfless. She often put others’ needs above her own even as she suffered from starvation in the POW camp. She was an incredible woman and an exceptional nurse, and she opened doors for women in the U.S. military for years to come.
I hope you enjoyed learning about Army Col. Ruby Bradley. Thanks so much for reading, clapping, commenting, and sticking around for 30+ seconds. I am grateful for all of you and I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend.