By Steve Plutt

In celebration of Colorado’s 150th birthday and the United States’ 250th, local historian Steve Plutt and the Ute Pass Historical Society have written a series of stories to bring the area’s colorful history to life.

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Grace Elizabeth Bradshaw, affectionately known as “Elizabeth” or “Beth” by those who wanted to stay on her good side, was born on Christmas Eve, 1913, in Colorado Springs.

Her father, Ray Bradshaw, served as a United States forest ranger and was stationed in Lake George where the family lived from the late 1920s and through the 1930s.

In 1940, Ray and family, including then 26-year-old registered nurse Beth, moved to Woodland Park, living out near Edd and Iva Kelley, of Kelley Road fame, presumably at the forest service station just east of the Kelley farm, that is still in use today.

Then came Pearl Harbor. In the aftermath of that assault, hundreds of thousands of Americans enlisted in the military to defend our nation. Seven months after Pearl Harbor, on July 8, 1942, Grace enlisted in the Army Nursing Corps. Now known as Lieutenant Bradshaw, Beth was in charge of an outfit of nurses and shipped out with the first wave of troops to Europe.

On June 6, 1944, the largest seaborne invasion in history happened when allied troops landed on the beaches of France on what is known as D-Day. And Beth and her nurses were right there in the thick of it. She landed at Omaha Beach, where she and her nurses exited the landing craft and waded onto the beach to tend to the incredible amount of wounded and dying.

For Beth, this was a terrifying prospect since she was deathly afraid of water. Despite the initial hesitation, she plunged forward without a word, guiding her nurses to safety, as the urgent situation at hand far outweighed her deep-seated fear.

When the Allies advanced inland, Beth and her nurses were not far behind the front line. As causalities mounted the further inland they drove, those nurses, under direction of Lieutenant Bradshaw, were tasked with trying to save as many as possible, even entering burnt out tanks and pulling suffering soldiers out and in the clear for treatment.

Next up for the nurses was the horrific “Battle of the Bulge.” During this last, major German offensive of the war, there were around 83,000 allied casualties, including at least 20,000 American deaths. The “Bulge” was the largest and bloodiest single battle fought by the United States in World War II. This battle started on Dec. 16, 1944 and ended on Jan. 25, 1945; 41 days of horror.

As a result of the allies’ planning mistakes, Beth and her nurses were told to set up their medical tent in the middle of a live combat zone. As the battle raged on around them, her team’s dedication to treating the wounded never wavered.

For the soldiers who were too injured to make it to medical help, Beth and a surgeon hopped into a jeep and drove around the active war zone looking for the wounded and would load them up and transport them back to the medical tent. This courageous act took place while enemy mortars, small arms fire and the deadly, 1st SS Panzer Division bombardments were happening all around them. Beth continued to search out the wounded, displaying a complete disregard for her own safety and well-being. For her actions, she earned a battlefield Bronze Star for heroic service in a combat zone. She also earned a Purple Heart but tried to refuse it because she felt unworthy of a medal that so many men obtained when they were severely wounded. She only accepted it after her commanding officer ordered her to do so.

Beth’s unit stayed in Europe after VE Day to facilitate the evacuation of the remaining wounded soldiers. But they did have some spare time now that the war in Europe was over. And with that time and when they could, the nurses got to have a night out every now and then. Beth was also able to write home much more often.

At one point Beth’s sister wrote and asked if she needed anything. To that question, Beth responded by asking for some Revlon Red nail polish, so, in her mind, she could feel like a woman again.

Lieutenant Grace Elizabeth Bradshaw was honorably discharged from active duty on Jan. 19, 1946 at the rank of Captain.

Back home in Colorado, Beth married Mr. George A. Michels in Pueblo on Jan. 31, 1947. George was a machinic who worked at Cady Daniels Chevrolet, in downtown Colorado Springs. Together they raised a family in the Springs where she continued helping for years at the Air Academy, teaching CPR classes.

This former Lake George/Woodland Park resident, a true national hero, passed away in Colorado Springs in 1993. She was survived by her four children and two grandchildren.