American Red Cross Research Help

[siege1863]

Does anyone have source material on the ARC during WWII, such as directories, administrative reports, etc. I just acquired (not yet in hand) a huge collection of photographs and documents attributed to Lawrence Weldon Snedaker of New York. The photos, numbering several hundred, show him in Army uniform. However, he is somehow connected to the ARC serving in the CBI Theater. There is material from Shanghai and Yokohama. One item I can identify dates as early as 1942 and is from Pekoa Airfield on Espiritu Santo.

 

Apart from some basic genealogical background found on Ancestry.com and elsewhere, I cannot find any reference to him and his role with the ARC. Any additional information is appreciated.

[Gregory]

I do not have it but I know about it -- if I may suggest check "Look" magazine, February 6th, 1945 issue. This magazine contains very nice photo report under the title of "Snatching wounded in Burma". It has 17 photos of the CG-4As in casevac/medevac configuration.

 

Best regards

 

Greg

[fortworthgal]

Do you have any of the photos of him in uniform that you could possibly post?

 

Men did serve with the American Red Cross, specifically with the Military Welfare Service. They wore male Army officer's uniforms, but with ARC insignia. They served as field captains of the ARC at various locations. Very interesting, and not something many people are aware of. It is possible that is what he did. I would be very anxious to see a photo to see if perhaps that is the case. There are also many reports of men (mostly enlisted) being "assigned" to assist the ARC field units, many times as drivers.

 

The other person I can recommend to contact is Shirley Powers, the ARC historian. She is a wealth of information and can probably assist you. She has a website, I believe it is collectarc.com, but a google search would probably be a good bet.

[Salvage Sailor]

For reference, this is an ARC uniform from our family collection.

[Salvage Sailor]

ARC Military Welfare Service

[Salvage Sailor]

ARC Military Welfare Service left arm patch

[fortworthgal]

Salvage Sailor - that is a nice uniform, thanks for sharing! You don't often see the male ARC uniforms.

[siege1863]

Here are some photos showing the best detail of the uniforms...

 

[siege1863]

 

[siege1863]

[fortworthgal]

Ding ding ding, we have a winner! Yes it appears he was an American Red Cross staff member (probably paid, not a volunteer) serving under the Military Welfare Service. This means he was a member of the civilian ARC organization and not a member of the Army. Still, very neat as male ARC groupings are quite rare.

 

Shirley Powers is the person to contact on this - she's the ARC volunteer historian and has lots of information on these men serving with the ARC. She can probably help you the most. Here is her website: http://www.collectarc.com/

 

This page also has some interesting info about the Red Cross during WWII. They weren't just nurses, people!!!

 

http://www.redcross.org/museum/history/ww2a.asp

[Brian Keith]

Nice Photo's, thanks for posting them.

BKW