Betty Clements | |
|---|---|
 Clements in uniform, c. 1943 | |
| Born | Grace Elizabeth Clements April 14, 1918 Elmwood, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Died | July 17, 1965 (aged 47) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |
| Education | University of Nebraska (BS, MD) |
| Known for |
|
| Medical career | |
| Profession | Physician |
| Field | Neurology |
| Institutions | Mayo Clinic |
| Awards | Congressional Gold Medal (posthumous, 2010) |
Grace Elizabeth "Betty" Clements (April 14, 1918 – July 17, 1965) was an American physician, who after serving in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) during World War II, became the first woman neurology resident at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, to devote herself to the practice of neurology after residency. She later co-founded the Barrow Neurological Institute.
Clements gained a Regents Scholarship to study education at the University of Nebraska and earned a place on the University's Mortar Board. After graduating in 1939 she was appointed Supervisor of Physical Education for Girls in the McCook Public Schools and at McCook Junior College. She earned her private pilot's license in 1942, following which she was accepted into the WASP program. As a WASP during World War II, she arrived at Utah's Wendover Air Force Base, stepped out of her airplane, and surprised officers greeting her by being a woman. She was part of a team that flew missions associated with the confidential Manhattan Project.
After being honorably discharged from the WASP, she transferred to the American Red Cross training school for hospital workers, and until April 1946 was posted in the Philippines. There, during her spare time she cared for people with leprosy at the Tala Leprosarium, and subsequently organised essential supplies to be transferred there from Nebraska.
She died from cancer in 1965 and in 2010 was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.