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whom were donating not only their time, but also the use of their cars. Many new Corps were formed throughout the country, and various motor organizations which had up until then been operating independently came in under the Red Cross, until by
December 31, 1918, there were 297 Motor Corps in the United States with a membership of 11,604, exclusive of the Auxiliaries and the Reserves who had placed their names on the lists for service in times of emergency. In addition to the fact that all the members of the Motor Corps were volunteers, each member supplied her own car and sustained all its operating expenses. The members who gave regular Motor Corps service were expected to be on duty a minimum of 16 hours a week, although they did not limit themselves to that total, the general average being more than twice the required minimum. During the twenty months ending February 28, 1919, a mileage of more than 3,572,000 miles was covered by the automobiles operated by the motor corps with services provided to canteens, military hospitals, camps, cantonments, home service workers, outside aid, office detail, and other ARC activities, as well as during the 1918 flu pandemic. The Red Cross Motor Service was composed of women volunteers who used their personal cars. More than 12,000 women provided their services to this branch of the ARC by the end of World War I, logging over 3,500,000 miles (5,600,000 km).
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supplementing the work of the Army and Navy in transporting sick and wounded men from ships and trains to their destinations. and aiding hospitals and local relief organizations. On
December 31, 1918, the reports of the Motor Corps from the Divisions disclosed for the last year of the war that the Motor Corps gave an average minimum service amounting to 6,864,000 service hours, which, figured in their value in dollars, representing a tremendous donation to the Red Cross war fund. Approximately 34,— 320,000 service miles were operated during the year. The value of the motor equipment alone, put at the service of the Red Cross free of charge, represented an investment of over $ 17,000,000, exclusive of upkeep and operating maintenance. In the late winter and early spring of 1919, an additional need for Motor Service developed in connection with the entertainments and recreations under the auspices of the Red Cross at the various hospitals. The demand was particularly heavy during the spring and summer months, for many of the parties and entertainments then given were out of doors and sometimes at a considerable distance from the hospital.
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testimonial letters of appreciation from military, naval and medical men and authorities, and from public institutions and private individuals, testifying to the valiant work of the Corps in the influenza crisis. Fearless of the possibility of contracting influenza themselves, the Motor Corps women worked night and day, frequently serving as much as 100 hours per week apiece, carrying patients—on their backs, in sheets, in blankets, on chairs, or whatever was available when stretchers could not be used— to hospitals from homes of poverty and luxury alike. No assignment was refused, nor did members of the Motor Corps confine themselves to these services-—they did anything that needed doing. It is on record that they actually scrubbed floors and cooked meals for families, all members of which were ill, and in several instances they even conducted funerals.
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and “first aid, emergency delivery of babies, blackout driving, military drills, and defense against gas attacks.” On July 20, 1941, Ginger Lilly, along with her other Red Cross Motor Corps drivers, “began regular duties” and were “given a complete list of assignments for ‘Attack Day.’” On
December 7, 1941, Ginger reported for duty in her gray gabardine Red Cross uniform, tin helmet and gas mask. For three days from Pearl Harbor, she transported the wounded, “...many of whom were in great pain and shock and terribly worried about their wives and children,” to makeshift first aid stations set up in all the local schools, such as Farrington and Ma‘ema‘e Elementary in Nu‘uanu Valley. “They pressed upon me scraps of paper telling their names and which hospital they’d be in and begged me to find their wives and children. I said I would.”
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98:, the uniform of khaki and the insignia formerly employed have been discarded. The new regulation uniform of the Motor Corps became Red Cross Oxford grey. The cars of the service are to be distinguished by a white metal pennant, bearing the red cross and the words "Motor Corps" This and the driver's identification card were considered sufficient to give the cars the right of way when on official business. It has been decided that women of the ARC Motor Corps Service would carry the official telegrams containing information regarding over-seas casualties to the homes of relatives killed and wounded.
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205:, 45,000 women logged more than 61,000,000 miles (98,000,000 km) with deliveries and providing transportation. Many of the corp members took classes in auto maintenance to keep their cars running and used their own transportation to deliver supplies, and transport not only the sick and wounded, but also volunteers to and from facilities. The mechanics classes included information on everything from jumping the ignition to changing tires and also included 20 hours of emergency medical training. Several large cities, like
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Volunteers of the Motor Corps often served as auxiliaries to the Army and Navy. The organization of the service fell under the charge of the Bureau within the
Department of Military Relief, and strict adherence to military discipline and a requisite level of military training were consistently
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Except for incidental service which was rendered in connection with entertainment and recreation under Red Cross auspices at the remaining military hospitals, and for the active Home
Service and Nursing Service work in the civilian field, in time of disaster or epidemic, by December 1920, the Motor
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The First
Division consisted of the ambulance drivers and truck drivers, who were required to meet the highest standard, and to perform the most exacting and the heaviest service, of the Corps. The First Division women had to pass searching examinations in motor mechanics, first aid, sanitary troop
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In Hawaii, volunteers attended first aid courses at Queen's
Hospital and studied to become members of the Red Cross Women's Volunteer Motor Corps. Their studies were difficult. They learned to drive and maintain heavy army trucks, trailer rigs, and ambulances; change massive tires and fix engines;
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By June 30, 1918, there were already in operation throughout the US approximately 100 Motor Corps with a membership of about 3,000 women. During the summer of 1918, the development of the Motor Corps was rapid and systematic. On
November 1, 1918, there were over 12,000 motor corps workers, most of
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The Motor Corps was established in
February 1917 to support the transport of sick and wounded soldiers from troop trains to hospitals during WWI. The Motor Corps also assisted with the delivery of supplies to and from storage warehouses, along with transporting nurses and canteen workers to their
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The service was organized as a Bureau of the
Department of Military Relief, and in every Chapter which organized a Motor Corps, a Captain was appointed to command the Corps, with power to appoint Lieutenants and noncommissioned officers. Military discipline and an appropriate measure of military
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During the influenza epidemic which spread over the country in the autumn of 1918, the Red Cross Motor Service met and passed its severest test in a distinguished way. in a distinguished way, its severest test. There are on file at ARC National Headquarters hundreds of newspaper clippings and
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As the war drew on toward its close, the Ambulance Service of the Motor Corps in the US became increasingly important and useful, and after the Armistice, during the winter of 1918 and spring of 1919, there were several hundred Red Cross ambulances in use in various parts of the country,
185:, when the Gillespie Munitions Loading Plant was destroyed, the Corps rendered invaluable service in transporting doctors, nurses and relief workers to the scene of the explosion, and in picking up hundreds of refugees and finding shelter, food, clothing and medical attention for them.
91:. All these organizations were represented at a national conference by their commanding officers, who then become commanders of the Red Cross Motor Corps Service in their respective cities. The four independent services added more than six hundred members to the Motor Corps ranks.
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Corps was mostly demobilized, retaining primarily a reserve organization to meet peacetime emergencies of civilian as well as military character.
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The Work of the American Red Cross During the War: A Statement of Finances and Accomplishments for the Period July 1, 1917, to February 28, 1919
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The Work of the American Red Cross During the War: A Statement of Finances and Accomplishments for the Period July 1, 1917, to February 28, 1919
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47:, and to assist other ARC workers in conducting their various relief activities. The diverse character of the work included
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480:. Virtual Museum of Public Service School of Public Affairs and Administration Rutgers University-Newark. Archived from
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by the Women's Motor Corps drivers of the Atlantic Division of the American Red Cross. (Capt. Smylie on the left side.)
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and stretcher drill, and road driving. A certificate was given to every woman who qualified for the First Division.
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The organizations which became parts of the Red Cross Motor Corps Service were the Motor Messenger Service of
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Double Victory: How African American Women Broke Race and Gender Barriers to Help Win World War II
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393:. Bureau of Publications for the Department of Chapters, American Red Cross. 1920.
377:. Bureau of Publications for the Department of Chapters, American Red Cross. 1920.
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349:"140 years of service: Women an important part of American Red Cross history"
325:"140 years of service: Women an important part of American Red Cross history"
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584:“Nimitz at Ease”, Captain Michael A. Lilly, USN (Ret), Stairway Press, 2019
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Florence Harriman heading Washington Ambulance Corps in Red Cross parade
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
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Bureau of Publications for the Department of Chapters (1920).
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251:: Bureau of Publications for the Department of Chapters's
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615:. Vol. 6 (Public domain ed.). American Red Cross.
668:. Vol. 50 (Public domain ed.). E.E. Schwarzkopf.
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Bureau of Publications for the Department of Chapters 1920
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Bureau of Publications for the Department of Chapters 1920
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T. A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant explosion
598:American National Red Cross. War Council (1919).
235:: American National Red Cross. War Council's
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213:had African American units of the Motor Corps.
75:; the National Service League Motor Corps, of
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604:(Public domain ed.). American Red cross.
440:American National Red Cross. War Council 1919
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647:. Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Review Press.
453:"Women of the Red Cross Motor Corps in WWI"
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43:in transporting troops and supplies during
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504:"World War II Volunteer Special Services"
288:"World War I and the American Red Cross"
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168:Flu pandemic (St, Louis, Missouri; 1918)
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707:1917 establishments in Washington, D.C.
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94:In conformity with the request of the
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31:) was founded in 1917 by the
20:Red Cross Motor Corps (1917)
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662:Schwarzkopf, E.E. (1918).
267:: E. E. Schwarzkopf's
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374:The Red Cross Bulletin
253:The Red Cross Bulletin
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506:. American Red Cross
290:. American Red Cross
177:Perth Amboy disaster
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484:on 23 December 2015
120:Detroit to New York
702:American Red Cross
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684:Media related to
665:Automobile Topics
654:978-1-56976-808-2
633:978-3-11-097112-5
269:Automobile Topics
160:1918 flu pandemic
151:Ambulance Service
96:US War Department
57:1918 flu pandemic
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102:World War I
85:New Orleans
53:cantonments
45:World War I
696:Categories
571:2024-02-08
463:2024-02-08
358:2023-12-07
334:2023-12-07
221:References
131:enforced.
525:Cott 1993
37:U.S. Army
211:Chicago
201:During
127:posts.
89:Chicago
81:Buffalo
73:Atlanta
63:History
49:canteen
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271:(1918)
255:(1920)
239:(1919)
649:ISBN
628:ISBN
512:2015
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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