Captain Elwin Shopteese Va Clinic

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for S. 3249, a bill to designate the outpatient clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Wyandotte County, Kansas City, Kansas, as the Captain Elwin Shopteese VA Clinic.

A member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, Elwin Shopteese enlisted in the Kansas National Guard shortly after graduating from high school in 1940. As World War II grew, Mr. Shopteese was mustered into the Army as a corporal and sent to training.

By 1941, Corporal Shopteese was in Europe, where he saw combat in Normandy, northern France, and Rhineland. He fought in the Battle of Omaha Beach, and he saw battle again in the Battle of the Bulge, where his regiment rescued soldiers trapped by German combatants.

Mr. Shopteese was awarded the Bronze Star for his work in connection with military operations against the Nazis near Herne, Germany, in 1945. His courageous actions at Omaha Beach earned him a rare battlefield commission, one of the highest honors that could be bestowed on a combat soldier.

After continuing his military service during the Korean war, Mr. Shopteese left the U.S. Army as a captain. Upon returning home, Captain Shopteese dedicated his life to alcoholism prevention programs, including forming the Indian Community Alcoholism Resources Expeditors Recovery Home to help Native Americans combat alcohol abuse and turn their lives around. He continued his important work as the home's executive director until his passing in 1992.

Naming this clinic in his honor is a fitting way to pay tribute to Captain Shopteese's heroic commitment to the Nation and his service to his community.

Mr. Speaker, I support this important piece of legislation, and I ask all of my colleagues to join me in passing S. 3249 to designate the outpatient clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Wyandotte County, Kansas City, Kansas, as the Captain Elwin Shopteese VA Clinic.

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