The Soldiers' and Sailors' Families

Abstract

Although in the very nature of the case, soldiers and sailors are separated from their families, the Home Service of the American Red Cross reaches both the men, wherever they may be, and their loved ones at home. It is at once the means of sustaining the spirits of our fighting men and of preserving the welfare of their families. It is a tie that binds them together. Men may be the best soldiers in the world, but if things are not well with their families at home they lose efficiency through worry, and the morale of the armythat all-important factor-begins to fail. So it is the patriotic duty as well as the humanitarian opportunity of Home Service workers of the American Red Cross to care for the lonely families of our fighting men. They must be encouraged to carry without faltering. Their families must not be allowed to bear personal privation and so to double the willing sacrifices they have made. Every report from the training camps and from the French front mentions the excellent spirit of our troops. Will they maintain this morale while thousands of miles from home, through trench-life and battle, to the victorious end? The answer will be determined largely by the Home Service of the Red Cross, which must be the nation's assurance that no enlisted man's family will suffer for any essential thing that lies within its power to give. There are representatives of the Home Service of the Red Cross in every training camp for soldiers and sailors in this country; they are with our troops in France; and their offer of help is on the bulletinboard of every ship of the Navy. They invite the confidence of the men, and win and deserve it. They learn of the anxieties of the enlisted men and of needs in their homes. Such messages are then promptly sent to the Home Service Sections of the Red Cross Chapters and their families are visited and helped. Then the encouraging news goes back to the husband or brother. He also is helped. That result is not hidden from those on this side the trenches. Daily letters are received like the following: 171