Linda L. Bray Collection
Scope and Contents
This collection contains medals, souvenirs, manuals, VHS, magazine and newspaper clippings, military papers, correspondence, boots, and uniform.
Dates
- Majority of material found within 1990-2002
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright is retained by the creators of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information. Please see our Sensitive Materials Statement.
Biographical / Historical
Linda Bray of Butner, North Carolina, served in the United States Army from 1982 to 1991, and during the Panama Invasion, she was the first female to lead troops into combat. Linda Bray was born in Sanford, North Carolina, and raised in Butner. After graduating from South Granville High School in Creedmoor, North Carolina, she enrolled at Western Carolina University.
She joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps in 1981 and attended basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Bray graduated with a degree in criminal justice in 1982, but returned in 1983 to earn a military science degree and qualify for direct commission." In the summer of 1983, Bray attended Officer Basic Course at Fort McClellan, Alabama, before being assigned to a special weapons depot in Siegelsbach, Germany, in November 1983. There she served as an MP (military police) and later became the operations manager of the depot. She met Randy Bray her first week there, and they were married two years later.
She returned to the United States in 1987 and completed Officer's Advanced Class and Provost Marshal's Class at Fort McClellan. She and her husband were then stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia, where she served as a training officer for the Officer Candidate School. When she fractured her hips on a road march, she briefly served as a personnel officer during her recovery. After being cleared for duty in 1988, Bray was given command of the 988th MP Company. The next year the unit was given orders to deploy to Panama, which they did in December 1989." A few days later, during the Invasion of Panama (Operation Just Cause) Bray became the first woman to lead United States troops in battle. She commanded a unit to fire on soldiers of the Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF) who refused to surrender their positions at a dog kennel which was concealing a large weapons cache.
Publicity surrounding Bray's participation in the operation brought the issue of women in combat to the forefront of public opinion. Controversy flew in the press, Congress, the Department of Defense and the public as Bray swirled at the epicenter." Bray's company returned to the United States in April 1990, but in August she required an additional hip surgery and was offered a medical discharge. Frustrated by an aggressive investigation into her unit's actions in Panama and with a performance review she found unfairly discriminatory, she accepted the discharge in early 1991, and her husband also resigned from the army.
After leaving the service she began writing a yet to be completed book on her experiences. When the Department of Homeland Security was formed in 2002, she helped train people in screening job applicants. She is currently a realtor in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Extent
1.05 Linear Feet (Two Record Boxes, Artifact Box 3, Textile Box, Oversized Box)
Language of Materials
English
Metadata Rights Declarations
- License: This record is made available under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Creative Commons license.
Abstract
Linda Bray of Butner, North Carolina, served in the United States Army from 1982 to 1991, and during the Panama Invasion, she was the first female to lead troops into combat. This collection contains a uniform, boots, correspondence, various documents, magazine and newspaper clippings, and medals.
Arrangement
This collection contains the following series. Series 1. Correspondence. Series 2. Photographs. Series 3. Various Documents. Series 4. Textiles. Series 5. Artwork.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection was donated by Linda Bray.
Existence and Location of Copies
Digital reproductions of additional Linda Bray newspaper and magazine clippings are available to view onsite. Viewing may be requested by emailing scua@uncg.edu.
Separated Materials
This collection consists of 4 boxes and textiles stored in separate location.
Offensive Language Statement
The UNC Greensboro University Libraries collects, preserves, and makes accessible unique and historical materials for learning and research. The nature of historical materials is such that some material may represent positions, norms, and values that are offensive and objectionable. These materials represent the opinions and actions of their creators. By providing access to these records in our reading room and through our digital collections, we recognize that archives and rare books can play a vital role in holding those creators accountable and in helping us learn from the past.
Our finding aids and other collection descriptions may occasionally re-use language provided by creators or former holders of the materials, but we strive to place outdated or offensive terminology in context. That said, we recognize that we may not always make the right decision and welcome feedback from all sources so we can learn and adjust our practices. Please contact us at scua@uncg.edu if you encounter problematic language in our finding aids or other collection description. We will review the language and, as appropriate, update it in a way that balances preservation of the original context with our ongoing commitment to describing materials with respectful and inclusive language.
Processing Information
Processed by Matthew McCarthy.
- Title
- Linda Bray Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Matthew McCarthy
- Date
- 2022 April
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives Repository