Ruby Bradley was one of the most decorated women in United States military history. Bradley was born on December 19, 1907 in Spencer, West Virginia, but lived most of her life in Falls Church, Virginia. She became a nurse in 1933 and joined the United States Army Nurse Corps as a surgical nurse in 1934. Bradley was serving at Camp John Hay in the Philippines when she was captured by the Japanese army only three weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. She and several other nurses were moved to Santo Tomas Internment Camp in Manila, Philippines where they establish clinic to care for the sick and wounded prisoners. Bradley and the other nurses got the name “Angels in Fatigues” from the fellow captives. For the next several months, Bradley assisted in over 230 surgeries and helped give birth to 13 American babies while being a prisoner. Bradley would often help those who were starving whenever she could, often going hungry herself. Bradley weighed only 86 pounds when U.S. troops captured the camp on February 3, 1945. Bradley spent more than three years as a prisoner of war. She continued in the Army after returning to the United States. Bradley returned to serve for the Army as Chief Nurse during the Korean War for the 171st Evacuation Hospital. In one occasion in November of 1950, Bradley refused to leave until she had loaded onto a plane all the sick and wounded during a Chinese offensive strike in Pyongyang, North Korea. From 1950 to 1953, Bradley was named Chief Nurse of the Eighth Army, where she supervised over 500 army nurses throughout Korea. Bradley was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1958 and eventually retiring from the U.S. Army in 1963 but remained a nurse. Bradley received 34 national and international awards for her services. Bradley’s record includes two Legion of Merit medals, two Bronze Stars, a Prisoner of War Medal, an Army Commendation Medal, and a U.N. Korean Service Medal with seven battle stars. She also received the Florence Nightingale Medal from the International Red Cross.