What would you do with bullets flying through the air, but you’ve got one patient left who isn’t safe? Would you go back to save them? I know a woman who was in that exact circumstance… she chose to go back and save the patient. She went back onto the battlefield even though it could’ve cost her her life. Colonel Ruby Bradley was an influential woman because she showed sacrificial love to everyone she met; she served our country with a passion, and we can learn a lot from her.
Ruby Grace grew up on a small farm in Spencer, West Virginia with her family of seven. Her parents were Frederick and Bertha Bradley. Ruby grew up the fourth child out of five. Her sisters were Jessie and Anna, and her brothers were Doy and Smith. She stayed in Spencer
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all of her childhood, and stayed close with her family. Later in life, she moved to Falls Church, West Virginia for 50 years. Following in her mother’s footsteps, Ruby went to Glenville State College to earn her degree in teaching. After she graduated, she taught grades 1-8 in a small, one-room school in West Virginia. One day, she went to visit her sister Sallie at Walter Reed Army Hospital, and she instantly fell in love. She knew that very day that she wasn’t meant to be a teacher, but a nurse. She quickly applied to the Philadelphia General Hospital School of Nursing. She was accepted and quickly became a favorite of the teachers and doctors because of her “ ...knowledge, her good-natured, easy smile, her skills and gentleness with patience.”. She graduated in 1933, and she immediately joined the Army. On October 16, 1934, she took the Army Officer’s Oath of Office and was assigned to Walter Reed Army Hospital. The journey from being a teacher to a nurse had been 14 years. At 34 years old, she was stationed at Camp John Hay in the Philippines. On December 7th when the Japanese attacked, she and a few other nurses escaped and hid in the hills. Five days later, she was captured. The couple, who had helped to hide them, ended up giving their location to the Japanese. Ruby was taken to the Santo Tomas Internment Camp in Manila, where her courage and strength was tested every day for three years. Being a nurse, she couldn’t let anyone die if there was anything she could do. Ruby stole medical instruments and morphine she found that were leftover from the WWI era to help prisoners. Her captors never caught on to her stealing of supplies. In an interview later in life she said, “The Japanese thought it was wonderful that we could do all this without any instruments.” She helped assist in more than 230 operations and helped deliver 13 children. Because of her sacrifice, she was named the “Angel in Fatigues” by the other prisoners. Ruby often went hungry so that she could save food for children. When she first entered the camp, she weighed 110 pounds, but when she was liberated she was 84 pounds. Whenever she could, Ruby hid food in the empty space between her clothes and her body. When WWII ended in 1945, Ruby and her fellow prisoners were liberated on February 3rd. She returned home, then waited five years before returning to the Army as a nurse when the Korean War began. There is a famous story of her courage and love for her patients from when they were under attack from the enemy during the Korean War. There were bullets flying through the air, and a plane had been sent to rescue the nurses and patients. They had gotten almost all on board just as the enemy had broken through the line. But Ruby went back anyway. She ran through gunfire and brought the last man to safety. Just a few seconds after she had jumped onto the plane, the ambulance behind her was blown up. For all her bravery, she has earned respect from many. Brigadier General Cassie Strom said, “Colonel Bradley was an adventurer, unafraid of life's challenges. She refused to be left behind in the service of our country. She not only witnessed the history of our nation at war; she made history in her devotion to duty and dedication to every man and woman in uniform.” Ruby was also recognized by our nation. She was the first woman to be given a national or international guard salute. Ruby was one of the first three women to be promoted to the permanent rank of Colonel in the regular Army. When she retired in 1963, she was the most decorated woman in the military. Ruby Bradley was awarded more than 20 medals and commendations for her service in the military and on the front lines as a nurse. These include two Legion of Merit Medals, two Presidential Emblems, and a WWII victory medal. Ruby didn’t get all these medals for nothing- she helped to save many lives while in the camps and on the battlefield. Her love of service to humanity wasn’t only seen in her military career, but also from her time as a teacher. Ruby dedicated her life to teaching people of all ages. In both professions, she was serving other people, either teaching them, or by fighting to save their lives. Ruby Bradley impacted many people through her constant love and care. She continued to fight in the Korean War with the same gumption. She served the Army for 30 years before retiring. After she retired, Ruby started her own base where she still helped those in need. She showed sacrificial love even through trials and tribulation. Ruby Bradley is a living example of sacrificial love.
Ruby put others before herself, being willing to risk herself so that another person could be saved. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” God states that in His unconditional love for us, He would give up His ONLY Son to die an excruciating death. Moreover, Christ took on the sins of the world. Romans 5:8 says, "But God shows His love for us that in while we were sinners, Christ died for us". God used Ruby Bradley to save many lives, and whether she even knew it, she was mirroring the love of Christ to all those she saved. Christ tells us in John 13:34, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another.". Ruby dedicated her life to loving others, and put their needs above her own. Another verse that sums up Ruby Bradley is Romans 12:9-14 which states, "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the LORD. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the LORD's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.". It must have been a struggle in a POW camp, but Ruby persevered. In a biography about Colonel Bradley, Angel in Fatigues: the Story of Colonel Ruby G. Bradley, the Most Decorated Woman in the History of the United States Army, the author said that when Ruby applied to college, she obtained a reference from her minister testifying to her good moral character. Whether or not she was a churchgoer, she certainly showed sacrificial love like
Christ. Ruby showed sacrificial love all her life. First as a school teacher who put her students first. Next, she dedicated her life to saving others in her military service. Even when she was captured, she stopped at nothing to save a life. Ruby risked her own life and health for the needs of others. The dictionary defines sacrificial love as “A strong feeling of affection and concern toward another person, as that arising from kinship or close friendship.”. This seems very true, but Ruby Bradley went above and beyond. She loved people that were strangers to her. She worked nonstop for the good of others all her life, dedicating her life to service and love for others.
All those soldiers went through so much, they were too far in the war to quit. In that way, a soldier would stay to carry on those who lost their lives in battle.
An example of one nursing officer’s experience under fire is from Sister Kelly’s diary from the Casualty Clearing Station at the Western Front....
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