First Lieutenant Roberta Joan Brady U.S. Army 1944 – 1951
After graduating from three years nurses training in a Boston hospital in 1944, I joined the Army Nurse Corps. Upon f inishing 10 weeks of Army orientation at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, I was assigned to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and became a part of the 135th Evacuation Hospital.
After we were properly trained at Ft Wood, our unit was sent on a troop ship to Le Havre, France and housed for several weeks in a lovely Chateau Meniere, in the Normandy region. After that it was all about setting up hospital tent cities to take care of our casualties in the fields, and prepare them for evacuation to England and the United States. We traveled in 2 ˝ ton trucks through Liege, Belgium, Aachen, Germany, over the Rhine River and on to Bonn, and Dusseldorf. The St. Barbara’s Hospital, in Hamborn, Germany, provided us with a permanent establishment which helped us to provide better care for our patients. After victory in Europe was declared on May 15, 1945 we took care of the concentration camp prisoners as well.
Several months later we flew to Marseille, France to receive new immunizations and training on troop care in the South Pacific Theater. Our destination was going to be Manila, Philippines
V.J. Day, August 15, 1945, and the end to WWII, happened as we sailed to Manila. We were rerouted to New York City where our evacuation hospital was deactivated and we were all assigned to different Army hospitals in the United States. My next three years was spent at O’Reilly General Hospital in Missouri and Valley Forge General in Pennsylvania doing general nursing duty with orthopedic, plastics, and blind patients.
In 1948 I returned to Boston to finish my schooling with a Bachelor of Arts in Nursing, and spent one year at a civilian hospital as a head nurse on medical, surgical, and obstetric wards.
In my reserve status I was required to attend meetings and summer camp at Fort Devens and the Boston Army Base. During this time I met my husband, Captain Joe Brady, who was the Medical Administrative Officer in charge of all reserve personnel at 1st Army in Boston.
We were married in 1951, during the Korean War. When Joe went to Seoul, Korea, I resigned my commission to stay in Boston at a local hospital.
In 1954 I joined my husband in Tokyo, Japan where he was assigned to the Japan Medical Depot. We lived in the small town of Kaisumi and enjoyed the Japanese culture for a year and a half.
Our next assignment was to a Military Assistance and Advisory Group (MAAG) in Taipei, Taiwan. Joe worked with Chinese personnel organizing the medical corps for the North Chinese Army.
We returned to the U.S. with an assignment to San Antonio, Texas where Joe retired in 1957.We have three sons, one of whom retired from the Navy as a jet pilot. The other two are business men in the U.S.