12/11/2018
As World War I approached its end, Army leaders realized the necessity of expanding the young physical therapy program launched in 1918 with only 125 Reconstruction Aides at nine facilities. By the time the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, there were more than 700 Reconstruction Aides serving at 45 hospitals with physical therapy facilities.
Fort Sam Houston Station Hospital, one of the principle reconstruction centers post-WWI, began its rehabilitation department in January 1919 with nine Reconstruction Aides. The “Holy Nine” soon made daily exercise treatments like the class shown here a regular part of the veterans’ regimen.
On this Veterans Day, APTA thanks the veterans, Reconstruction Aides, and physical therapists who served, and continue to serve, in times of peace and conflict.