[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 184 (Tuesday, December 9, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2341]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IN HONOR OF JACK AND GENEVIEVE CHAPMAN, THE REAL SPIRIT OF THE SEASON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHELE BACHMANN

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 9, 2008

  Mrs. BACHMANN. Madam Speaker, I rise to share a story of two true 
public servants, Jack and Genevieve Chapman of Minnesota. As we enter a 
season when people's hearts and minds are turned to the spirit of 
giving, these two people have lived a life of selflessness and charity.
  Jack Chapman of St. Paul was recognized by the Army as a Shot Expert 
Rifleman as an ROTC high school student. When Pearl Harbor was 
attacked, he was an electrical engineering student at the University of 
Minnesota. One year later, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and was 
sent to the prestigious Bellevue Radio Materiel School at the U.S. 
Naval Research Lab. His lifelong love of Ham radio made him a perfect 
candidate for the new science of radar. He was assigned to the Marine 
Night Fighters in the South Pacific, the very first to use radar at 
night. He earned two Bronze Service Stars on the Asiatic-Pacific 
campaign ribbon. Jack also earned the American Theater Campaign Bar 
before being honorably discharged to return home and complete his 
college education.
  Genevieve Christgau of Minneapolis pursued a nursing degree and 
became a registered nurse working in the operating room at Asbury 
Hospital. Her status as essential personnel kept her from joining the 
Army Nurse Corps. But, as soon as her status changed, she enlisted and 
was assigned to the 77th Field Hospital in December 1944. Her tour took 
her to France where she worked with soldiers preparing to return home. 
Many had come from POW camps and were suffering severe malnutrition. 
Before her honorable discharge and return to the States, Genevieve was 
stationed in Nuremburg, Germany. When she returned home, she resumed 
nursing; this time in the Veterans Hospital in Minneapolis. During the 
Cuban Refugee Crisis, she worked at Fort McCoy, WI, and she earned 
certification as a Public Health Nurse, helping provide early childhood 
screenings and school nursing services.
  Genevieve and Jack married on February 18, 1949 and continued to live 
a life of service. Both are active volunteers at Pax Christi Catholic 
Church. They also have been members of ``Friday Friends,'' a group that 
visits Presbyterian Homes, formerly the Eagle Nursing Home, and of 
Bridging, an organization that provides household furniture and goods 
to those who need them most. Always putting their family at the center 
of their generous spirits, they have raised seven children, giving them 
16 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
  These two fine people have lived a life of service to their country, 
their community, and their family. They are two of the many unsung 
heroes that make America work, and today I rise to sing their praises 
and to thank them for their selflessness.

                          ____________________