[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 183 (Tuesday, October 19, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1112-E1113]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING MRS. BETTE HORSTMAN

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 19, 2021

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Mrs. Bette Horstman 
and wish her a very happy 100th birthday on December 6, 2021. Mrs. 
Horstman is a distinguished resident of Morton Grove, Illinois and a 
constituent of mine. She was an honorable 1st Lieutenant who served in 
the U.S. Army Medical Corps as a Physical Therapist during World War 
II.
  Bette Horstman was born on December 6, 1921 in Hibbing, Minnesota and 
grew up in Chicago, Illinois with her younger sister and parents. Mrs. 
Horstman graduated from the University of Michigan in 1943 and was 
accepted into the Mayo Clinic's Physical Therapy (PT) program.

[[Page E1113]]

  Students in the program were visited by a U.S. Army recruiter who 
told them about their country's need for their skills and service and 
she enlisted in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in 1944. Upon completing 
her training, she was sent on her first assignment at Tripler General 
Hospital in Oahu, Hawaii, and later 3,700 miles west to Saipan, where 
her professional skills helped heal many soldiers during the war. She 
was discharged in 1946 and was honored for her service with a 
Meritorious Service Unit Citation with one Star, the Asiatic-Pacific 
Service Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.
  In her post-service life, Mrs. Horstman helped establish the PT 
departments at three Chicago area hospitals. She was the first female 
in the state of Illinois to open up her own PT practice. She continued 
her education and received both a Master's in Education and a nursing 
home administrator's license. She was also a long-time member of the 
American Physical Therapy Association.
  Mrs. Horstman volunteers and gives back to the community to this day. 
She has worked with the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, 
and at the North Chicago VA as a post commander, where she has 
volunteered for nearly two decades. Before the onset of the COVID-19 
pandemic, she volunteered for the bedside care program ``No Veteran 
Dies Alone.''
  Mrs. Horstman's lifelong commitment to giving back to the community, 
her service to her country, her groundbreaking career, and her work 
healing people across the Chicagoland area are truly remarkable. I 
appreciate Mrs. Horstman's service to the Chicago community and the 
country, and I wish her a very happy 100th birthday.

                          ____________________