The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
A LEGACY OF SERVICE
One of the first female Marines dies at 95
NEW MILFORD — Veronica “Ronnie” Bradley — one of the first women to serve in the Marines and the subject of a recruitment campaign during World War II — died last week, leaving behind a legacy of service.
Bradley had a stroke and died the evening of Feb. 25. She was 95.
“She always amazed us,” said Bradley’s daughter, Patty Coelho.
Bradley joined the Marines in 1942, just shy of her 20th birthday, making her one of about 25 women selected in New York for the first round of recruitment for the newly formed Maine Corps Women’s Reserve. She was stationed at an air base in Santa Barbara, Calif., where she was assigned to aircraft repair.
A sharp-looking Marine Corps hat worn by a woman in a recruitment poster is what piqued Bradley’s interest and led to her joining the Marines. About a year after she did, she was surprised to discover she had a recruitment poster of her own.
In the image, she is standing in front of a warplane in her Marine uniform and hat. The poster reads: “Be a Marine. Free a Marine to fight.”
Large replicas of the image still hang in several museums and it has been reproduced on postcards and other posters and has appeared in documentaries about the war and women’s role in it.
Coelho said her mother was very humble about her accomplishments with the Marines.
“She never thought it was as big a deal as it was,” she said.
In an interview with Hearst Connecticut Media in November, Bradley said she was proud to serve in the Marines and said it was one of the best decisions she ever made.
“I had a sense of being a good American,” Bradley said.
The Marines plan to honor her with a ceremony later this month and Bradley’s ashes will be placed at Arlington National Cemetery.
Coelho described her mother as someone who would do anything for anyone and cared for her family.
“She was a very kind soul,” she said.