By Doris Haydee Rosero Salazar

It was 1968 in New York City when Mary Lu Wetmore was in her early 20s, recently married and having to cope with the fact that her husband was going away to serve the country in Vietnam.

A few days later, while walking around the city, she saw the Red Cross symbol and asked the crew whether she could join the mission as a volunteer. When asked what kind of volunteer work she would like to do, Mary Lu replied, “put me in the hospital, that’s where I want to be.” 

Some college years in a physiotherapy program gave her the motivation to volunteer with the Red Cross in Health Services, initially once a week at one of the military hospitals. Later she joined a second clinic and served twice a week. Mary Lu volunteered for one year, and she fondly recalls this time as a Red Crosser.

The hospital’s doctors, nurses, and medical personnel guided her to help countless soldiers and many other patients. She says “they let me learn and do,” referring to the valuable lessons of teamwork, dedication and commitment that were key aspects of her volunteer experience.

Mary Lu was eager to help and make the most of this experience. For instance, when she was working at the front desk checking in the troops, a young soldier was feeling embarrassed to talk about his medical condition with her. Mary Lu said “You can talk to me,” and let the young man know that he could trust her. Good communication with the people she was assisting would help her to help them.

This was quite important back then when, according to multiple sources in the history of medicine, medical procedures in the 1960s were not as refined as we see them today. In general, diagnostic and surgical practices were more invasive and, therefore, patients faced more discomfort and pain than we all do nowadays.

That is precisely what the young soldier was going through. Finally, he trusted Mary Lu and allowed her to be present in the diagnostic room holding his hand while he was undergoing the uncomfortable and painful medical procedure he was prescribed.

Similarly, a female patient who was going through wound-healing sessions due to third-degree burns asked Mary Lu to be her support during wound treatment. There were countless other cases when Mary Lu was compassionate with patients who found in her a caring person who was there for them when they were in pain. “You learn a lot about people when they are at their most vulnerable time,” she says.

However, not everything was as easy for Mary Lu to manage. A few weeks after joining the hospital as a volunteer, she was learning how to assist the medical personnel and a patient on a specific procedure. She started feeling woozy and almost passed out, so one of the medical staff walked her out of the room to a quiet place nearby. He brought her a couple of ampoules containing *smelling salts which were quite common in the 1960s in New York. (These *salts are no longer approved for routine use.)

Mary Lu used one of the ampoules and kept the second one in the pocket of her uniform. It is still there today, about six decades later. The out-of-date ampoule reminds Mary Lu of the strength she developed to be able to volunteer and support others. “I was put on this Earth to help people, and difficult things wouldn´t stop me,” she said. 

Mary Lu recalls this being the main lesson she learned at such a young age. She also kept the uniform provided by the Red Cross that she wore during every volunteer shift. The pristine dress has stood the test of time, including the Red Cross design embroidered in the blouse and cap. It is now on display at the Red Cross office on Joint Base Lewis McChord.

For Mary Lu Wetmore, “the whole experience was wonderful,” and she feels proud and privileged to have served with the Red Cross in 1968. Her message to all Red Cross volunteers is “do your best, do what you can with your heart in it and go for it. Don’t let the routine obscure your motivation. Just keep helping and have fun at what you are doing.”