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W. Earl Hall World War II stories, 1944
1944-09-20 Letter #38
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slug-Wonderful Work-4 Passed for Publication 20 Sep 1944 By W. EARL HALL Globe-Gazette Managing Editor Letter No. 38 England (By Army Bomber Transit)--This is a report to the millions of Americans who are dues-paying members of what is perhaps the world's greatest organization--the Red Cross. During the past 6 weeks I've seen the Red Cross on the job under various and varying conditions. I've seen it on the beachheads of Normandy. I've seen it Paris, I've seen it at aviation bases, I've seen it in London and I've seen it in great general hospital not far this city. The crux of my report is that the Red Cross is doing an absolutely magnificent job. Millions of boys in all branches of the service, with abundant reason, are regarding the organization as their friend in need. On the beachheads, the Red Cross must deal with transient troops. Coffee and doughnuts and movie shows play an important role in the program. In London, and probably in Paris by this time, the Red Cross conern is to be of maximum service to boys on leave, sometimes for 24 hours, sometimes for a longer period. Nineteen establishments have been set up in London, mostly in what formerly were commercial hotels. Skeleton staffs of Red Cross employes are supplemented by hundreds of carefully chosen volunteer workers. Lodging and meals are available for service men on leave for only a little more than a dollar a day. Candy, cigarets and soft drinks are obtainable at cost. Movies, supervised dances and various types of tours of the city are an important part of the program, with occasional community sings and shows put on by visiting celebrities from Hollywood or elsewhere. At the air bases, among other things, the Red Cross is on hand with coffee and doughnuts when the crews return from their missions and file up the path to the so-called interrogation hut. But it's at the hospitals, such as the enormous one near here, that the Red Cross program reaches its fullest flower. I learned about it today from Miss Helen Fox of Iowa City, formerly of Waucoma, Ia., of the recreational staff. "What can we do to hasten the recovery of these wounded boys?" and "What can we do to make things more homelike for them while they're here?" are the two motivating questions back of the program. When I visited Miss Fox, who was teaching high school French in Milwaukee when she joined the Red Cross, she was giving direction to a dozen convalescent soldiers in the handiwork room. Materials and the necessary instruction are provided for making leather pocketbooks, woolen rugs, felt toys and various plastic objects. In the next room some 50 boys in robes were playing games--pingpong, billiards, chess, checkers, monopoly, etc., with others just outside pitching horseshoes. There's tennis and golf for those sufficiently recovered. Each month there's a big birthday party, with presents. Tours include visits through historic university, steamer trips, and visits to nearby rest areas. Not least important is the daily visits to bedfast patients, to handle telegrams and cables or satisfy any other conceivable need. In this brief letter I've no more than scratched the surface of the Red Cross field of service over here. The full story couldn't be told in a book of "Gone With the Wind" dimensions. All in all the Red Cross has measured up to its wartime responsibilities in a way that should bring pride and satisfaction to its vast body of shareholders. -- 30 --
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slug-Wonderful Work-4 Passed for Publication 20 Sep 1944 By W. EARL HALL Globe-Gazette Managing Editor Letter No. 38 England (By Army Bomber Transit)--This is a report to the millions of Americans who are dues-paying members of what is perhaps the world's greatest organization--the Red Cross. During the past 6 weeks I've seen the Red Cross on the job under various and varying conditions. I've seen it on the beachheads of Normandy. I've seen it Paris, I've seen it at aviation bases, I've seen it in London and I've seen it in great general hospital not far this city. The crux of my report is that the Red Cross is doing an absolutely magnificent job. Millions of boys in all branches of the service, with abundant reason, are regarding the organization as their friend in need. On the beachheads, the Red Cross must deal with transient troops. Coffee and doughnuts and movie shows play an important role in the program. In London, and probably in Paris by this time, the Red Cross conern is to be of maximum service to boys on leave, sometimes for 24 hours, sometimes for a longer period. Nineteen establishments have been set up in London, mostly in what formerly were commercial hotels. Skeleton staffs of Red Cross employes are supplemented by hundreds of carefully chosen volunteer workers. Lodging and meals are available for service men on leave for only a little more than a dollar a day. Candy, cigarets and soft drinks are obtainable at cost. Movies, supervised dances and various types of tours of the city are an important part of the program, with occasional community sings and shows put on by visiting celebrities from Hollywood or elsewhere. At the air bases, among other things, the Red Cross is on hand with coffee and doughnuts when the crews return from their missions and file up the path to the so-called interrogation hut. But it's at the hospitals, such as the enormous one near here, that the Red Cross program reaches its fullest flower. I learned about it today from Miss Helen Fox of Iowa City, formerly of Waucoma, Ia., of the recreational staff. "What can we do to hasten the recovery of these wounded boys?" and "What can we do to make things more homelike for them while they're here?" are the two motivating questions back of the program. When I visited Miss Fox, who was teaching high school French in Milwaukee when she joined the Red Cross, she was giving direction to a dozen convalescent soldiers in the handiwork room. Materials and the necessary instruction are provided for making leather pocketbooks, woolen rugs, felt toys and various plastic objects. In the next room some 50 boys in robes were playing games--pingpong, billiards, chess, checkers, monopoly, etc., with others just outside pitching horseshoes. There's tennis and golf for those sufficiently recovered. Each month there's a big birthday party, with presents. Tours include visits through historic university, steamer trips, and visits to nearby rest areas. Not least important is the daily visits to bedfast patients, to handle telegrams and cables or satisfy any other conceivable need. In this brief letter I've no more than scratched the surface of the Red Cross field of service over here. The full story couldn't be told in a book of "Gone With the Wind" dimensions. All in all the Red Cross has measured up to its wartime responsibilities in a way that should bring pride and satisfaction to its vast body of shareholders. -- 30 --
World War II Diaries and Letters
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