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Artesia City Hall
18747 Clarkdale Avenue
Artesia, California 90701
562-865-6262
Artesia News
Purple heart recipient to speak at Artesia's Veterans Day
Daughter of prominent Artesia families to speak about her experiences in Iraq
When she was in Iraq, Corporal Alayna Braddy was a machine gunner onboard a Blackhawk helicopter. She was wounded twice and earned two Purple Hearts for her injuries.
She currently serves as a corrections officer in the United States infamous Fort Leavenworth, the military’s only corrections facility for U.S. sailors, soldiers, and airmen. On Saturday, November 10, Braddy will speak at Artesia’s Veterans Day Event which begins at 10 a.m.
Alayna Braddy was born on April 28, 1978 in Paramount, California, where she stayed until she was 12. Though she was born in Paramount, Braddy's roots lay in Artesia, as she is a product of the Mello and Gonsalves families.
The families have been part of Artesia's Portuguese community since before the 1930's. Her great grandfather Camile Mello was the first radio announcer for Portuguese speakers in the region and the Gonsalves family owned five dairies in Artesia, as well as having one of their members, Joe Gonsalves, be one of Artesia's mayors and later a California Assemblyman.
After relocating to the Central San Joaquin Valley, in the town of Hanford, Braddy graduated from Hanford High School and attended the College of the Sequoias.
She attended college for one year and decided school “was not for me.”
She then worked for a retail company for five years still wondering what she wanted to do.
In October 2003 she made her decision to join the Army. and on April Fool’s Day 2004, she began working as an MP, or Military Police.
Braddy says her parents were very supportive of her decision, but were none the less shocked. “You could’ve knocked them over with a feather,” said Braddy.
She was deployed in Iraq for one year, and in her capacity as a machine gunner for a Blackhawk helicopter, was wounded. “I earned two purple hearts during my deployment,” Braddy explained.
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