The Red Cross
Being accepted into the Red Cross during WWII was no easy feat. Their site explains:
"The Red Cross had many more women apply to be overseas club service workers than were needed, with fewer than one in six of the applicants getting the position. The Red Cross asked for women between ages 25 and 35 with college degrees, preferably in education, social work or recreation, but also accepted a few women who did not meet these criteria. They looked for poise and charm, good conversa-tional skills, self-assurance, stamina and creativity in applicants and the ability to “hold her own in a male dominated environment.” They also had to pass physical fitness tests."
An excerpt from Dear Nora — Nora writes to her parents in November 1944:
"I hope Americans understand the huge role the Red Cross girls play over here. Besides lifting spirits they help patients who have received divorce papers, have destitute wives, or have found out their girl back home is pregnant. We frequently ask them to contact parents, wives, or girlfriends of men who are in treatment. These boys have so many problems beyond their injuries. The Red Cross can also get guys on the ZI* list if there’s a problem at home, like a terminally ill parent.
* ZI stands for Zone of the Interior, the United States. Soldiers on the ZI list were headed home.
The Red Cross Clubmobile came last Tuesday and was a big hit. The girls made hundreds of doughnuts in the morning and distributed them on the wards in the afternoon. I even had one! A lot of patients tell me how much they loved having the Clubmobile serve coffee and doughnuts to the infantry in France. Seeing an American girl near the frontlines made them feel better."
When doing the research for Dear Nora, I read a number of compelling WWII Red Cross memoirs. In the book, my character Marian, who befriends Nora while she is stationed at the 162nd General Hospital, is based on these brave women. The character is named to honor real life WWII Red Cross worker, Marian Krinke.
In an interview in her 90's, Marian said, “I was a bit of a patriot and wanted to serve the Red Cross because it was an honest and dependable organization where my skills would be used to help soldiers. My family was surprised at first, then concerned about the danger I might face. But I was raised to be independent.” She was fortunate to have her brother serving at a nearby military base as a quartermaster. Marian lived an active and meaningful life passing away in 2020 at the age of 105.