American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles volunteers, Rachel Tarses and Bill Alley, were awarded Bronze Stars for providing Red Cross assistance to U.S. Armed Forces serving in Operation Desert Storm.

Once Upon a Time in Our Chapter

By Barbara Wilks
Chapter Historian

May 15 is Armed Forces Day, a time for the nation to remember and honor those who fight in our country’s military forces to preserve freedom. We especially honor those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. and while they do, the American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles is ready to help them and their families with emergencies.

This is not the first war for the Red Cross. It’s not even the second or third. The American Red Cross has been assisting members of the military and their families since the Spanish American War in 1898. The chapter has been actively providing aid since it was established in 1916 and collected materials and gifts for soldiers serving on the Mexican border under General John J. Pershing.

Cell phones and computers have changed communication between service men and women and their families somewhat. They often can hear good and bad news rapidly. If that news requires them to be at home with their families, however, it is the Red Cross that helps them obtain an emergency leave. In 2009, however, the Red Cross did provide approximately 640,000 emergency communications, messages of births, deaths and critical illness.

One thing that has not changed is the staff of dedicated Red Cross field directors who serve with the troops. In 1991, The American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles was proud that two of those brave people who went with the U.S. military to Operation Desert Storm were two experienced chapter disaster volunteers, Rachel Tarses and Bill Alley.

They lived in tents in the hot Saudi Arabian desert, worked 15-hour days with gas masks at their elbows and worried about SCUD missile and gas attacks, but they got the job done. Despite the hardships, both came home agreeing they would go again without hesitation.

For their courage and dedication, they were among the seven Red Cross workers awarded the Bronze Star, which is given to those individuals who, while serving in any capacity with or in the U.S Armed Forces, distinguish themselves by meritorious achievement or service during armed conflict.

Assistance for the military and their families is mandated by the American Red Cross Congressional Charter granted in 1905, and the American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles stands ready to help in wartime or peace.