70 years ago today, December 7^th became a day which would live in infamy. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor marking the US entrance into World War II. Moments after the attack, the Red Cross sprang into action. 

 

However, The American Red Cross involvement in World War II preceded the entrance of the United States into the conflict. When hostilities began in Europe in 1939, the Red Cross became the chief provider of relief supplies for the civilian victims of conflict distributed by the Geneva-based International Red Cross Committee.

 

From there on, the Red Cross maintained a historic presence throughout the duration of the war (you can see the whole timeline here, including President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's radio talk to the nation in support of the Red Cross War Fund).

 

This excerpt about our involvement in the war comes from our World War II scrapbook that you can view here.

 

During World War II, the American Red Cross operated in more than 50 countries, providing camp, club, and hospital service to all military personnel wherever they were stationed or deployed overseas. These services included counseling, communication among family members, recreational activities, and the distribution of comfort articles. By 1945, 39,032 individuals were employed by the American Red Cross and 7,500,700 others volunteered. The number of service personnel receiving Red Cross aid totaled 16,113,000 and 42,000,000 messages were exchanged between the troops and their families. The Red Cross shipped more than 300 thousand tons of supplies overseas. All the services provided were not without sacrifice. Over the course of the war, 86 Red Cross workers lost their lives.

 

70+ years later (The first war-related mission of the American Red Cross occurred in 1898 during the Spanish-American War), the American Red Cross is still deeply committed to supporting our armed forces. Both active duty and community-based military can count on the Red Cross to provide emergency communications twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, that link them with their families back home, access to financial assistance in partnership with the military aid societies, information and referral and assistance to veterans. Red Cross personnel form a global network in nearly 600 U.S. chapters, military installations worldwide and in forward deployed locations in Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq.

 

This holiday season, you too can support the Red Cross Service to Armed Forces. When a service member comes home injured or with long-term injuries, you can help provide his or her caregiver with skills and confidence to support their loved one. Family members truly appreciate being able to properly care for the hero they are welcoming home.

 

A donation of $75 will provide one family with Caregiver Training and help family and friends care for wounded heroes.

 

Lindsey

 

Lindsey Weber is the Communication Specialist for the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter.