It’s World War I. You are a wounded soldier at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. You have no family or friends nearby and will be in the hospital for weeks recuperating from your injuries. You keep seeing women and men dressed in gray uniforms with large red crosses reading books to other soldiers, shopping for them and writing letters for soldiers to their loved ones back home.

When one of the women in gray stops by your bedside to see if you need anything, you ask her “Who are you?”

With a smile on her face and a tender touch to your hand, she identifies herself as a Red Cross volunteer. “Some call us the Gray Ladies. Well, except for the men you see in gray. We call them the Gray Men.” You immediately feel comfortable with her and ask if she would help you write a letter to your parents back home, letting them know you are in good hands.

For many soldiers and veterans at Walter Reed Army Hospital, the Gray Ladies (and Men) were an integral part of their recovery. During the Great Depression, Red Cross volunteers across the nation became a Gray Lady to provide comfort and other services in both military and civilian hospitals because health needs grew. In fact, during World War II, the number of Gray Ladies reached nearly 50,000.

Even though the Gray Ladies volunteer service disbanded in the 1960s (the Red Cross began to unite its volunteer programs under one unit called Red Cross Volunteer Services), many long-term volunteers continued to proudly wear their gray uniforms for years and years.

The American Red Cross has a longstanding partnership with the military. The St. Louis Area Chapter is proud to carryon the tradition by providing services to the armed forces including 24-7 emergency communications, hosting events at Jefferson Barracks and John Cochran Veteran Hospitals, and providing health and safety classes and other Red Cross programs at its Scott Air Force Base Service Center.

Kimberly Pratt is the marketing and communication specialist for the St. Louis Area Chapter.