[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 154 (Friday, September 22, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E881]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING THE 100TH BIRTHDAY OF MRS. ETHELYN SZAD BELL OF BONHAM, 
                                 TEXAS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. PAT FALLON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 22, 2023

  Mr. FALLON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 100th birthday 
of Mrs. Ethelyn Szad Bell of Bonham, Texas. Mrs. Bell served in the 
United States Army Nurse Corps in the Second World War and will turn 
100 years old on October 4, 2023.
  Mrs. Bell was born in Wallingford, Connecticut on October 4, 1923, to 
Charles and Gertrude Szad. As the Second World War raged on, Mrs. Bell 
heard President Franklin D. Roosevelt's appeal to the Nation for 
additional hospital staff, so she enlisted in the United States Army on 
March 26, 1945. She completed basic training for Army nurses at Fort 
Devens, Massachusetts, and set sail to the Philippines with the Army 
Nurse Corps on the hospital ship USAHS Charles A. Stafford. During this 
time, Mrs. Bell provided care for wounded soldiers in a tent city 
within the Philippine jungles. She later transferred to Nagoya, Japan, 
and tended to American GIs in a converted hospital. For her service and 
efforts, Second Lieutenant Bell was awarded a citation from President 
Harry S. Truman, and she was honorably discharged on June 19, 1946.
  After the Army, Mrs. Bell worked at the Veterans Administration 
Hospital in McKinney, Texas. In 1947, she met her husband, fellow Army 
veteran Charles Bell, on a blind date. They married a year later on 
October 16, 1948, and moved to Prosper, Texas. Together, they raised 2 
children, Tom and Cindy. Mrs. Bell later worked as a school nurse at 
the North Ward and West Ward Elementary Schools in McKinney until her 
retirement in 1978. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and visiting 
casinos. I am honored to commemorate Mrs. Bell today on reaching her 
centennial.
  I have requested the United States flag to be flown over our Nation's 
Capital to recognize Mrs. Bell's remarkable journey and service to our 
Nation. May God bless Mrs. Bell as we celebrate 100 years of life and 
joy.

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