When
war came, the only U.S. organization that was ready to
act was the Red Cross. The Red Cross had 59 years of practice
dating before World War I, when it called itself "The
Greatest Mother".
Here's
a great poster issued during World War I that depicts
the maternal spirit of the Red Cross workers:
The
day after Pearl Harbor 3,740 Red Cross chapters enlisted
tens of thousands of volunteers to handle all the support
services.
The
only reward the 'Angels of Mercy' received besides the
personal satisfaction was the coveted Red Cross pins and
service ribbons.
Proudly
worn on the uniform pockets, the ribbons had stripes of
silver for every 500 hours of service, thin gold stripes
of 1,000 hours and wide gold stripes for 5,000 hours.
Red
Cross Posters
