The Quiet Courage of Colonel Ruby Bradley

The Quiet Courage of Colonel Ruby Bradley

I have been learning about some of the remarkable individuals who served during the world wars, and today I want to talk about Ruby Bradley.

She was born on the 19th of December 1907 in Spencer, West Virginia. She entered the United States Army Nurse Corps in 1934 as a surgical nurse.

During the Second World War she was stationed in the Philippines. Just weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, she was captured by the Japanese. She was eventually held at Santo Tomas Internment Camp in Manila. Her time there was harsh. She suffered hunger and illness. But, she continued to care for others. She helped in hundreds of operations and assisted in bringing new life into the world. She risked punishment by smuggling food and medical supplies.

By the time the camp was finally liberated in February 1945, she was dangerously underweight, but she returned home and even continued her service. During the Korean War, she refused evacuation until every wounded soldier had been safely loaded onto a plane. She only just escaped, moments before the danger closed in.

She rose through the ranks, becoming a colonel before she retired in 1963. Even then, she continued to work as a nurse for many years.

Ruby Bradley died on the 28th of May 2002 at the age of 94.