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Show American Red Cross Aids Wounded and Abie-bodied Afot long ago to a Red Cross field director with an outfit on maneuvers flashed a message that the mother of a man in his unit was critically ill, and the man was needed at jr x home immediately. jj4 i""-. With this mes- f $ ptrL I sage from the sol- J El,, -f I dier's Red Cross fa I chapter verifying I the illness, the J v ' field director called on the commanding officer who arranged ar-ranged an emergency furlough. While a courier sped up the line to fetch the soldier, the Red Cross man was busy arranging transportation. trans-portation. Within a few hours the boy was at the Red Cross field office where furlough papers and a ticket awaited await-ed him. The field director drove him to the airport, and the boy arrived ar-rived home in time not to see his mother die, but to save her life with a blood transfusion. Today, almost seven months after V-J Day, some 17,000 Red Cross workers are still with the GIs at home and abroad. Hundreds of clubs and rest homes overseas are in operation oper-ation where men meet on leave, get home-cooked food, and that prime American favorite doughnuts and coffee. Music and entertainment, books, magazines, and home town newspapers, lounge and writing rooms all are popular. For men staying overnight there are comfortable com-fortable beds, clean sheets, and hot showers. More important than Red Cross services to the able-bodied are those for the wounded and ill. In army and navy hospitals the country over, professional and volunteer vol-unteer Red Cross workers serve in many ways. To the hospitalized a financial or family problem may prey upon the mind and dull the will to recovery. Under guidance of Red Cross medical medi-cal social workers many a problem is dissolved, and obstacle overcome. Programs directed by recreation workers help patients forget their troubles. Red Cross volunteers supplement these workers with every conceivable service. For example, there was the blinded soldier whose face was horribly hor-ribly scarred, who was expecting a visit from his wife and five-year-old daughter. It would be the first meeting in two years, he told the Red Cross girl who was teaching him rummy with Braille cards. "My little girl knows I'm blind and she's planning how she'll do things for me," he said. But what she did not know, what had been kept from him so that it might not retard his readjustment1, was the way he was scarred and disfigured. ' The Red Cross girl caught her breath. "That's fine," she said. "I'll meet them at the train." Her heart sank upon seeing the tiny girl. It would be a job to prepare pre-pare her for the shock, to make i sure she did not let her father suspect sus-pect there was anything wrong. Gently she told the child about her daddy's face, how it would get better, how much he loved her, and that she mustn't be afraid. Then, with a prayer in her heart, she led mother and child to where the blinded soldier waited. The crucial moment had come. Now, upon the actions of a little girl, the future of this family would depend. For a moment the tot stood in the doorway, looking at her father across the room. Then, without hesitation, came the patter of little feet, and she threw her arms around her father's neck. "Daddy," she cried, "Daddy, it's me we're so glad to have you back!" A simple service, yes. But it determined de-termined the happiness of three people. Without the understanding heart, and the many who daily give of their minds and souls, the adjustment ad-justment of .thousands of servicemen service-men might be seriously retarded. The American Red Cross needs $100,000,000 to carry on during the next fiscal year. Because farm families have a big stake in the Red Cross they consistently consis-tently support the organization. The Red Cross is confident that families in agricultural areas, the backbone of the nation, will generously gener-ously support the 1946 Fund Campaign. |