In Honor of Helen Horlacher Evans
Floor Speech
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Mr. BARR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Mrs. Helen Horlacher Evans. Mrs. Evans was born in Fortville, Indiana on June 11, 1920 and will soon be celebrating her 100th birthday.
Mrs. Evans graduated from the University of Kentucky and began teaching home economics at Versailles High School. After conversations with fellow teachers about the newly formed Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, she joined the Army on a dare in 1942. She was in the first group of Kentucky women accepted for the WAC and at 21 years of age she was one of the youngest. She was accepted for the Officer Candidate School at Fort Des Moines, Iowa.
Mrs. Evans was trained in army food service and served as the Office of the Quartermaster General inspector for stateside WAC mess halls. In early 1945 she was assigned to the European Theatre of Operations with the Office of the Quartermaster General outside Paris, France. At the end of the war she was working along the banks of the Rhine feeding German prisoners of war. Mrs. Evans earned the rank of Captain. Her experience as a WAC is documented as part of the Veterans History Project in the Library of Congress.
Upon returning to civilian life, Mrs. Evans began work at the Veterans Administration in Louisville, KY, where she served as a senior training officer until 1951. She has served as a volunteer on many projects related to veterans, including serving as Kentucky's representative on the committee to establish the National Women's Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. She received the Spirit of Kentucky Award for Patriotism from the Kentucky Daughters of the American Revolution. In 2018, she was inducted into the Kentucky Veterans Hall of Fame.
It is my honor to recognize this amazing patriot, celebrate her 100th birthday, and thank her for her service and sacrifice to our nation during World War II. As a part of ``The Greatest Generation'', Mrs. Evans was an important part of the war effort to preserve the freedoms that we enjoy today. I am forever grateful for Americans like Helen Horlacher Evans.
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