Nurses to Know: Ruby Bradley
War, starvation, and captivity could not stop Ruby Bradley from pursuing her calling in nursing. A pioneering Army nurse, her career stretched nearly 30 years and included service in both World War II and the Korean War. Throughout her service, she helped advance nursing care in combat zones and influenced the development of military nursing protocols. As a result of her dedication and leadership, Bradley received multiple military honors and made history as the third woman in the U.S. Army to reach the rank of Colonel.
But who was this famous nurse, and what change did she help catalyze in the world? This article is your in-depth guide to Bradley’s life, work, and legacy.
The Life of Ruby Bradley
Early Life
Ruby Grace Bradley was born on December 19, 1907, near Spencer, West Virginia, to Fred O. Bradley and Bertha Welch Bradley. She was the fifth of six children in a hardworking farm family, where long days of physical labor were routine. From an early age, Bradley learned the value of perseverance, responsibility, and hard work — lessons shaped by the daily demands of farm life.
Driven by a desire to serve others, Bradley pursued a career in education. In 1926, she graduated from Glenville State Teachers College and started teaching elementary school students in a schoolhouse in Roane County. While she loved teaching, witnessing the health struggles her students and their families faced sparked a new passion: nursing.
In 1930, Bradley made the life-changing decision to enroll in the Philadelphia General Hospital School of Nursing. She graduated in 1933, entering a profession that looked very different from nursing we know of today.
During the 1930s, access to healthcare was limited, birth control was illegal, and nurses could even face arrest for advising women on family planning. Many children suffered due to poverty and lack of medical care, placing nurses on the front lines of public health crises.
It was also during this time that nursing began to evolve. As medical knowledge expanded and patient needs became more complex, nurses increasingly specialized in specific areas of care, such as surgical nursing, which was Bradley’s chosen specialty.
Early Nursing Career
After graduating in 1933, Bradley entered a challenging job market — the Great Depression made work scarce, especially in rural areas like Roane County. These circumstances led her to join the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and eventually take a position as a civilian staff nurse at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C., a cutting-edge institution that combined the Army hospital, the Army Medical School, the Army Medical Museum, and the Surgeon General’s Library under one roof — a hub of medical innovation.
It was in this environment that Bradley sharpened her skills, gaining surgical expertise and the resilience that would prepare her for the extraordinary demands of military nursing during wartime. Her experience at Walter Reed paved the way for her next step: military nursing.
Military Nursing
After joining the U.S. Army Nurse Corps in 1934, Ruby Bradley embarked on what would become a truly remarkable career that took her around the world and into some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable. She was stationed at Camp John Hay in the Philippines when World War II reached the Pacific.
In the weeks that followed, Japanese forces invaded the Philippines. Bradley survived the initial bombings but was unable to escape. She hid in the hills with a nurse and a doctor for five days until they were captured by Japanese forces.
During her 37 months as a Japanese prisoner of war, Bradley continued her work under extremely harsh conditions at the Santo Tomas Internment Camp. There, she and fellow nurses were nicknamed the Angels in Fatigues for providing care to prisoners, assisting in more than 230 major surgeries, and even delivering 13 babies despite severe food shortages and limited supplies.
When U.S. troops liberated Santo Tomas on February 3, 1945, Bradley weighed only about 84 pounds due to malnutrition, a stark indicator of the hardships she endured while caring for others.
After World War II, she continued her Army career and furthered her education, earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing (BSN) from the University of California in 1949, just four years after the war ended.
When the Korean War started in June 1950, Bradley served as Chief Nurse of the Army’s Base Hospital at Cocoa Beach, Florida, receiving a promotion to the rank of Major. As the war intensified, Bradley was deployed to serve as Chief Nurse of the 171st Evacuation Hospital, a frontline medical unit supporting U.S. and United Nations (UN) forces in Korea.
Bradley’s leadership was tested during dramatic moments of the war. In November 1950, during a massive Chinese counter‑offensive, Bradley’s hospital was ordered to evacuate. She refused to leave until every wounded patient was safely aboard the aircraft. She was the last to board the final plane — moments before the ambulance she had just exited was destroyed in an explosion.
In 1951, Bradley became chief nurse for the Eighth Army, supervising over 500 Army nurses across Korea, and in 1958 she was promoted to Colonel, making her one of the first women to attain that rank in the U.S. Army.
Continuing Legacy
Throughout her military career, Bradley earned 34 military honors and citations, including multiple Legion of Merit and Bronze Star medals, along with the prestigious international Florence Nightingale Medal from the International Red Cross.
After retiring from the Army in 1963, she continued to work in nursing as a civilian supervisor in West Virginia for nearly two decades. Ruby Bradley passed away on May 28, 2002, at the age of 94 and was buried with honors at Arlington National Cemetery — a fitting recognition for one of the most decorated women in U.S. military history.
Colonel Ruby Bradley: The Nurse Who Redefined Military Care
Bradley left a three-fold legacy: She healed people and saved lives in the most extreme conditions, redefined military nursing by leading and shaping frontline practices, and inspired generations by showing that it was possible for women — such as fellow distinguished military nurse Hazel Johnson-Brown — to rise to the highest levels of Army leadership.
Her promotion to Colonel, one of the first women in the U.S. Army to do so, broke long-standing barriers and proved that females could command respect, make critical decisions under pressure, and lead large units with authority and skill.
Beyond her rank, she demonstrated that true leadership is measured not by authority alone, but by courage, compassion, and the ability to serve others even in the most challenging circumstances. She led by example, proving her commitment through acts of bravery that spoke louder than words.
Get Inspired by Famous Nurses
Want to discover more trailblazing nurses? Explore our in-depth articles on other influential figures in nursing history:
- Clara Barton
- Edith Cavell
- Dorothea Dix
- Florence Nightingale
- Harriet Tubman
- Mary Seacole
- Susie Walking Bear Yellowtail
- Walt Whitman
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