Fact Check: Did Trump insult WWII hero Ruby Bradley as a 'loser' and erase her DOD records?

WASHINGTON, DC: A rumor circulated that President Donald Trump called World War II hero Ruby Bradley a “loser” and that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered all content about her removed from the Department of Defense’s platforms.

It began when users claimed the DOD had quietly deleted pages about Bradley, one of the most decorated nurses in American military history, and that Trump had insulted her.

Claim: Donald Trump called Ruby Bradley a 'loser' and erased her records from DOD

The claim appeared to originate from a since-deleted Substack post that spread across social media. It surfaced shortly after Trump’s executive order to eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs from the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

As part of that shake-up, some DOD and DHS history pages reportedly disappeared, were briefly deleted and restored, or reappeared with edits. That created the perfect storm for conspiracy theorists to claim that Ruby Bradley’s story was wiped out in the process.

Fact Check: No evidence supports claims about Donald Trump or deleted DOD pages

There’s no evidence backing the claim. None of the viral posts cited a verifiable source, and no credible outlet reported anything about Bradley’s legacy being erased or Trump insulting her. Even a Google search turns up nothing beyond the same rumor and plenty of debunking articles.

“Ruby Bradley” doesn’t appear anywhere on Trump’s Truth Social account, as confirmed by Snopes.When Snopes reached out to the Department of Defense in May 2025, the department responded via email: “The department is not taking down content related to Ruby Bradley.”

The rumor likely stems from Trump’s past remarks about military figures. In 2015, he drew backlash for comments about Senator John McCain, saying, “He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured."

Who was Ruby Bradley

Born in Spencer, West Virginia, Ruby Bradley joined the Army Nurse Corps in 1934 as a surgical nurse and served nearly three decades, becoming one of the most decorated women in US military history.

During World War II, she was stationed in the Philippines and captured by Japanese forces just three weeks after Pearl Harbor. Bradley spent 37 months as a prisoner of war at Santo Tomas Internment Camp in Manila, where she and her fellow nurses were known as the “Angels in Fatigues.” Despite starvation and lack of supplies, she smuggled medical equipment in her uniform, assisted in 230 surgeries, and delivered 13 babies.

She even gave up her own rations to feed children, weighing just 86 pounds when liberated in February 1945.

Bradley later served in the Korean War as Chief Nurse for the Eighth Army, supervising over 500 nurses. During the 1950 Chinese counter-offensive, she refused to evacuate until all wounded soldiers were safe, boarding the last flight out only after ensuring their evacuation.

Over her career, she earned 34 medals and citations, including two Legion of Merit awards, two Bronze Stars, and the Florence Nightingale Medal. She retired in 1963 as a full Colonel and passed away in 2002 at age 94. Ruby Bradley was buried with full honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.