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A Look at the Role of the American Red Cross in World War II
Written by
Brian Wachur
, Special to Redcross.org
Monday, June 06, 2005 — President George W. Bush recently issued a proclamation encouraging the the nation to observe the 60th Anniversary of the end of World War II. Today marks the anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France. Many historians have termed the Allied invasion as “the beginning of the end of the war,” and the American Red Cross was there. Side-by-side with the 175,000 American, Canadian, and British troops, Red Cross workers made sure that the humanitarian needs of all were being met.
American Red Cross worker waves to American GIs aboard a Liberty ship heading for Normandy. |
While D-Day represented a turning point for the Allies in WWII, the entire period during the war was an era of change and growth for the American Red Cross.
With an impact not often featured in WWII discussions, the American Red Cross delivered a myriad of relief supplies and services to war-torn Europe. In fact, American Red Cross assistance came as early as 1939 – before the United States entered the conflict. Involvement began with the distribution of relief supplies, but soon the organization’s role was much greater.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, many Americans joined the armed forces and those who stayed home united in support of the troops. In the years that followed, one in four Americans would become members of the Red Cross. Just about every family in the country had a member who had donated blood or money to the Red Cross, joined as a volunteer or received services from the organization.
The massive aid effort took place at home and abroad – wherever help was needed.
Overseas, the Red Cross recruited and certified nurses for the military's Nurse Corps, sent care packages to the nearly 1.4 million American and Allied prisoners of war and organized relief efforts for civilians in war-ravaged cities and towns. The Red Cross Productions Corps, with more than 3.5 million volunteers during the war, hand-crafted garments for civilians and military personnel, made surgical dressings and prepared comfort kits with personal items.
A Red Cross worker poses with American soldiers at a Red Cross club in London. Photo by Toni Frissell. |
Additionally, the Red Cross set up Canteens – small areas where traveling American soldiers could stop to eat, relax and momentarily feel a comforting reminder of home. In addition to food and medical care, some Canteen stations provided music, movies, books and other kinds of entertainment. While providing immeasurable relief to an amazing amount of troops, the Canteen stations would become a timeless symbol of Red Cross aid effort in the war.
At home, the efforts of the Red Cross were equally tremendous. Over the course of the war, domestic Red Cross chapters handled almost 18 million cases and participated in 42 million communications between troops and their families. The Red Cross helped service members with information about government regulations, pensions and benefits while its nurses volunteered their services to veterans’ hospitals across the country.
One of the biggest contributions the Red Cross made during those tumultuous years was the organization’s blood collection service. Beginning in August 1940 with the “Plasma for Britain” project, Red Cross blood services were initially developed to alleviate a plasma shortage in Great Britain. However, the following January, at the request of U.S. military authorities, the Red Cross began collecting blood in anticipation of America’s entry into the war. Soon, the Red Cross was operating 35 blood collection centers across the country. With a paid staff of 2,285 doctors, nurses and technicians in addition to around 25,000 volunteers, the Blood Donor Service was able to collect 13.4 million pints of blood by the end of the war in September 1945.
The revolutionary effort during the war would eventually become the archetype for the organization’s civilian blood collection program, which began in 1948 and continues today.
For more information on the relief efforts of the American Red Cross during the war, visit the World War II exhibit at the American Red Cross Online Museum.
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