Red Cross Mobile Corps, 1918

American National Red Cross has a history.

Red Cross Motor Corps during the 1918 flu pandemic.

Right after WWI There was a flu pandemic that spread coast to coast in the fall of 1918. The Motor Corps met the need because at the time there was no way for people to be transported to and from hospitals in a reliable, consistent way. In the national archives there are many letters of appreciation, testimonials and newspaper articles bearing witness to the valiant work of the Red Cross Mobile Corps during this crisis. The Motor Corps women worked day and night carrying patients any way possible to get them to the care they needed. No assignment was turned down, they did what needed doing. This might have been the ARC’s leading the way to modern Ambulance service. Just another way The American National Red Cross has and will be ready to step up to any challenge to help people in need.