I heard that the Red Cross required servicemen to pay for coffee and donuts during World War II. Is that true?
While it is true, the reasons for it are not well-known. All English and Australian men in uniform had to pay for off-base food and lodging because voluntary giving (which is characteristic of the United States) was not the pattern in other countries. The Red Cross was asked by the government to establish club facilities for U.S. servicemen overseas where troops for Allied forces would be welcome. The British high command then made an official request that U.S. servicemen be required to pay for whatever they received, just as the British and Australians had to pay. The Red Cross was adamantly opposed to this concept and protested vehemently. They lost the fight, however, when a letter of “request” came from Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson to Norman H. Davis, Chairman of the American Red Cross on March 20, 1942. His letter was tantamount to a command with which the Red Cross complied. The organization has been living with the ramifications of this request ever since.
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- I heard that the Red Cross required servicemen to pay for coffee and donuts during World War II. Is that true?
