American Red Cross - Service To The Armed Forces

Service To The Armed Forces

Although not a government agency, the American Red Cross provides emergency and non-emergency services to the United States military. The most notable service is emergency family communications, where families can contact the Red Cross to send important family messages (such as a death in the family, or new birth). In such, the Red Cross can also act as a verifying agency of the situation. The American Red Cross works closely with other military societies, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, to provide other services to service members and their families. The American Red Cross is not involved with prisoners of war; rather, these are monitored by the International Committee of the Red Cross, an international body distinctly independent of any nation.

One criticism of Red Cross services to the military stems from stories about the American Red Cross charging troops during the Second World War and Korean War token fees for "comfort items" such as toothpaste, coffee, donuts, and cigarettes and for off-base food and lodging. The fee suggestion had been made in a letter dated March 1942 from the Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson to Norman H. Davis, the chairman of the American Red Cross. The suggestion was that allied soldiers were being charged money so Americans should be charged too so as to "ensure an equitable distribution among all service personnel of Red Cross resources". The Red Cross subsequently adopted the Secretary's suggestion as policy at the time.

During the Vietnam War 627 American women served in the American Red Cross Supplemental Recreation Overseas Program. At the invitation of the United States Army the "Donut Dollies" provided morale-boosting games to soldiers. Due to the mobility of the UH-1 Iroquois, Vietnam Donut Dollies were able to visit troops in forward operating positions. The 2008 documentary film A Touch of Home: The Vietnam War's Red Cross Girls tells the story of these women.