Offi cials honor trailblazing Black
WWII veteran at B’Heights ceremony
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
Local offi cials honored trailblazing
Brooklyn Heights World War II veteran
Katherine Horton at the Brooklyn
War Memorial in Cadman Plaza
Park Wednesday.
Horton, who in October turned 100
years old, enlisted in the United States
Navy in 1944 and was one of the fi rst
Black women to be allowed to study at
the Naval Medical Center in Bethesda,
Maryland, which paved the way for
women and people of color to be part
of the armed forces, according to one
state offi cial and fellow veteran.
“I want to say a personal thank you
to Katherine Horton,” said Kristen
Rouse, deputy director for diversity,
equity, and inclusion for the New York
State Division of Veterans’ Services,
who served three tours in Afghanistan,
“for paving the way so that I can
serve, so that so many women can
serve, so that so many people of color
can serve, so that so many Americans
can step up and serve in our nation’s
uniform even if the military may not
be ready for us, may not view us as the
equals that we are and continue growing
and evolving with this great nation.”
COURIER L 12 IFE, NOV. 13-19, 2020
The centenarian enlisted in the
US Navy’s women’s reserve program
known at the time as Women Accepted
for Volunteer Emergency Service, or
WAVES, and served at a Naval Hospital
in Illinois before becoming a clerk
at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
The Cadman Park Conservancy
honored Horton, a resident of nearby
Cadman Towers, along with the tens of
thousands of borough veterans at the
organization’s annual Veterans Day
ceremony. There, one of the organizers
and a neighbor of Horton’s said he only
found out recently that the she served
during World War II.
“I had no idea — Kathy and I are
next-door neighbors,” said Toba Potosky,
the former president of the
Conservancy, who is now running
for Councilman Stephen Levin’s seat.
“Like a lot of veterans who came back
and served, they came back and they
raised families, they got jobs, they
started businesses, and they had successful
lives and didn’t really talk
about what they did.”
Horton went on to earn an associates
degree in physical therapy in
1976 and a bachelor’s degree from St.
Joseph’s College in 1985.
She worked as a physical therapy
assistant at the Veterans Administration
and in patient rehabilitation at
the Brooklyn VA Medical Center.
One local state legislator said that
Horton and other women of color who
served in the war have gone unrecognized
for too long.
“The women who served with
Kathy in World War II, the African-
American women who served with
Kathy during World War II have gone
too long unrecognized,” said Assemblymember
Jo Anne Simon, “and it is
so important and really such an honor
to be here and to recognize a hidden
fi gure.”
Above: Katherine Horton (right) with family at
a Veterans Day ceremony at Cadman Park on
Nov. 11. Right: A photo displayed a the ceremony
shows a young Horton (center) during her service
in the US Navy. Photos by Kevin Duggan
Bill de Blasio
Mayor
Dave A. Chokshi, MD, MSc
Commissioner