Col. Ruby Bradley

About Ruby Bradley

  • Retired Col. Ruby Bradley, known as "Angel in Fatigues," passed away at 94.
  • Bradley was a nurse who served in WWII and Korea.
  • She earned a degree in nursing education from UC.
  • She was the chief nurse of the 8th Army and faced many dangers.
  • She received a full-dress honor guard ceremony and a parade for her service.
  • Bradley was a combat nurse during the Korean War and became the Army's most highly decorated nurse.
  • Bradley was a hospital administrator in the Philippines during WWII.
  • She was a prisoner of war (POW) in the Philippines during WWII, where she cared for fellow captives, and she helped run a dispensary, and smuggled drugs and instruments to care for the soldiers
  • During her 37 months as a POW, she assisted in 230 major operations and delivered 13 babies.
  • She earned 34 medals for her service in two wars, including two Legion of Merit medals, two Bronze Stars, and the Florence Nightingale Medal.
  • In 1958, Bradley became the third woman in Army history to be promoted to the rank of colonel.
  • She retired in 1963 and supervised a private-duty nursing service in West Virginia.