El Segundo Boy Is Truly A Jet-Setter : Brad the Peacemaker Back from Singapore

Nine-year-old Bradley Correa--also known as Brad the Peacemaker--is back from another mission of good will.

The El Segundo fourth-grader, who last year visited the Soviet Union to call for the destruction of nuclear weapons, returned last weekend from a visit to Singapore, where he rubbed elbows with government officials, presented candy to school children, and became the darling of several newspapers.

This is the fourth such international mission Brad has embarked upon with his father, Robert, a Mexicana Airlines employee who travels around the globe on vacation. In 1987 and again in March, 1988, Brad went to the Soviet Union to talk about nuclear weapons and war, and in September of last year he visited Brazil, where he called for the preservation of that country’s rain forests.

The talkative youngster said he became interested in visiting Singapore when he read that the small island state had a reputation for being one of the cleanest cities in the world. And although U.S.-Singapore relations are not particularly strained, Brad said he went to call for “better relations and friendship” between the two countries.

To his father--and himself--Brad is the South Bay’s counterpart of the late Samantha Smith, the American schoolgirl who captured headlines when she visited the Soviet Union in 1983. But Brad noted a difference between him and Smith: “She was a girl. I’m a boy.”

Reluctantly, Brad concedes that fame has its price. “Sometimes I’m really tired (of traveling), and it’s better to stay home,” he said. “But when I get there I say it was better than staying home.”

Robert Correa said Brad comes up with the ideas to visit other countries. “All I do is provide the way to get him there,” the father said. Robert added that the international visits “help bring the world together,” as well as provide his only son with a rare educational opportunity.

During his weeklong visit to Singapore, Brad met with the minister of education, whom he presented with a set of silverware that was “made in the U.S.A.” Several newspapers featured front-page stories about Brad, his father said.

Brad also went to an elementary school and gave American candy to the students. He said the most interesting thing he learned there was that Singaporean children only get one recess period. El Segundo students get three. Brad said that he tried not to tease them about it.