Chesterfield Observer: Post office renamed for WWII code breaker

CHESTERFIELD OBSERVER

The U.S. Post Office building at 1201 Sycamore Square Drive has been officially renamed for World War II code breaker and former Midlothian resident Dorothy Braden Bruce.

Bruce’s family unveiled a plaque at the Midlothian post office during a ceremony attended by U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger last Friday morning.

Spanberger sponsored legislation to rename the facility in Bruce’s honor. It passed both houses of Congress and was signed into law by then-President Donald Trump last December.

Bruce was recruited by the U.S. military during World War II to serve in a top-secret group of code-breaking women. Sworn to secrecy, her unit worked to disclose the locations of Japanese ships in the Pacific, identify and intercept enemy supply movements and protect the lives of American service members.

She died in 2019 at age 99.