"To be calm, when others were distracted, to be sure, when others were uncertain, to be brave, when most of us would have been timid, and above all, to be generous, when most of us would have been selfish, was her practice", said of Jane Delano, founder of the American Red Cross Nursing Service, by her colleague Ruth Morgan.

Women and nurses played an important role in the history of disaster response in the United States. Clara Barton founded the American Association of the Red Cross in 1881. Jane Delano founded the American Red Cross Nursing Corps in 1909.

It all started in 1859 when Henry Dunant, a 30-year-old Swiss businessman was on his way home. He was shocked by the pitiable condition of the 40,000 dead and wounded soldiers he saw on the bloody battlefield in Solferino, in Northern Italy after the French victory over the Austrians. The horror of the carnage was surpassed only by the wounded being left to die. Dunant organized villagers to aid wounded soldiers, regardless of their nationality, "all brothers" the local women repeated as they carried the wounded seven miles to the courtyard of the cathedral. Dunant’s simple idea, people looking beyond national conflict to serve humanity, started events that changed the world. He went home and wrote a book which he mailed to influential people and which became famous, A Memory of Solferino (Un Souvenir de Solferino), published in 1862. This led to the birth of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) one year later in 1863. A red cross on a white background was adopted, the reverse of the Swiss flag and became a universal protective emblem in conflict areas. The founding of the ICRC led to the first Geneva Convention in 1864. But Dunant was not an organizer or a public figure. He was a private citizen who accidentally became acquainted with the human wreckage caused by war. He emphasized the need for trained volunteers and international cooperation and spent a great deal of strength, time and money on promoting these ideas. But amazingly, almost from the moment of his greatest success he declined. By 1867, just four years after the ICRC, Dunant was bankrupt. He resigned and wandered for 25 years without friends or work until he entered a hospital where he was rediscovered and received the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901. In 1910, after 18 years in the hospital, he died but is considered the founder of the Red Cross and his birthday is celebrated at World Red Cross Day. Although Dunant remains a mysterious person, his craving to bring relief to humanity in pain has made itself felt throughout the world.

The Red Cross is the largest humanitarian organization in the world. The components of the Red Cross Movement are: (1) The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), (2) the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies founded in 1919 and based in Geneva and (3) the national societies. The ICRC is an all-Swiss group of about 25 people which serves as an intermediary between belligerent countries in carrying out the terms of the Geneva Conventions.

The American Red Cross (ARC) is one of more than 145 national societies. The national society in Israel, Magen David Adom, is identified as the Red Shield (Star) of David which along with the emblems of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent identifies and protects people and facilities providing relief.

The three components of the Red Cross Movement are governed by a unity of purpose and allegiance to the seven Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement:

There are four Geneva Conventions although the third one of 1929 is the best known for the protection of prisoners of war. These international treaties to protect the victims of war started with the first one of 1864 to deal with the humane treatment of those wounded on land. The second of 1907 protects those wounded at sea and the fourth of 1949 protects civilians and further expands these rights under international humanitarian law (IHL). The best way to get people to obey international humanitarian law is to educate them about their rights and responsibilities and the impact of world opinion can be a powerful inducement to comply.

Jane Delano, a distant relative of FDR on his mother’s side, was the founder of the American Red Cross Nursing Service and a leading pioneer of modern nursing. In 1886 she graduated from Bellevue Training School for Nurses. Twelve year later, in 1898, during the Spanish-American War, she joined the New York Chapter of the American Red Cross. In 1902 she revolutionized the nursing curriculum at Bellevue by dignifying the position of nurses at a time when nurses were not recognized as full members of the medical profession. She also added cultural and recreational advantages for nurses. She emphasized the importance of having a ready supply of nurses in case of military conflict to avoid the lack of preparation during the Civil and Spanish-American Wars. In 1909 Jane Delano founded the American Red Cross Nursing Corps. Because of her efforts, when the United States entered World War I in 1917 there were over 8000 registered nurses immediately available for duty. By the end of the war 20,000 Red Cross Nurses had volunteered. Since it started, more than 370,000 professional Red Cross nurses have enrolled in the Nursing Service. Jane Delano died in 1919 at the age of 57 and is buried in the Nurses’ Corner at Arlington Cemetery.

In 1900 the US Congress granted the ARC a charter making them responsible for providing services to members of the US Armed Forces and relief to disaster victims at home and abroad.

When war broke out in Europe in 1914 one in five Americans was a member of the ARC. When the US entered the war, with the support of President Wilson, more than 30 million Americans were supporters. In addition to other services, the Red Cross pioneered the development of psychiatric nursing programs at veterans’ hospitals.

The American Red Cross involvement in World War II preceded the entrance of the United States into the conflict. By the end of the war, nearly every family in America had some connection to the Red Cross. War-related services included Services to the Armed Forces (SAF) including consultation and guidance in personal and family problems, communication between service personnel and family members, recreation and medical and psychiatric social work. The Volunteer Special Services included the Motor Corps which consisted almost entirely of women who clocked over 61 million miles answering nine million calls for transport. Forty-five thousand women served in the Motor Corps, most driving their own cars, and many completing training in auto mechanics! The Specialized War-time Services included care for the 65,000 war brides who were provided an array of services. The War-Related Activities of Ongoing Red Cross Services included the Nursing Service which enrolled 212,000 nurses. Seventy-one thousand actually served, representing 90 percent of all the nurses in the military! Throughout the war years, the Red Cross continued to serve those affected by natural disasters such as the Coconut Grove Fire in Boston which killed 492. Finally, the Red Cross supplied nurses to combat the polio epidemic that lasted into the 1950s.

Today the American Red Cross has 1.2 million volunteers and administers many programs including stress management, and programs for the homeless and parenting.

Major lessons learned from September 11, 2001 include the importance of coordination with other relief organizations, focusing on providing continuity of care and personal relationships with those tended to. And we remember the women who organized and provided psychosocial services along with other help.