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Insignia
Red Cross Pin
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All female Red Cross members wore the Red Cross "cut-out" enamel
pin in the middle of the bow on the visored cap of the
outdoor uniform. Additionally, it was worn on the left front section
of all garrison caps.
Unenrolled volunteers and paid stuff wore the Red Cross pin at the
neck of the shirt when the service jacket was worn.
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| Picture Examples can be found
under the following links:
Red
Cross Worker Betty Sullivan
(March 1945)
Red
Cross Member Ruth White
(taken between 1945 and 1947) |
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Furthermore, wartime pictures show women who served
with the Armed Forces wearing the Red Cross pin in another way when no
service jacket was worn. With the shirt's collar worn open, the Red Cross
pin was fastened at the left side of the collar (while the ARC initials
were placed at the right side). It was also worn this way on the gray seersucker
dress of hospital workers who served with the Armed Forces. |
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| Some pictures also show the Red Cross pin worn like this on the
collar of the white shirt when the collar of the shirt was worn over the
service jacket.
Another picture example can be found
under the following link:
Daisy
Chamness watercolor picture, 1945 |
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This wearing of the Red Cross pin on shirts and dresses with
open collar probably has changed sometime after the war and the insignia
were fastened the other way round with the ARC initials on the left side
and the Red Cross pin on the right side of the collar. Some postwar pictures
(dating around 1948 or later) presented in the book "Dressed for Duty -
Volume One" show this different wearing of the insignia on the collar (p.113,
117).
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It was not allowed to wear the Red Cross pin with civilian clothes.
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Volunteer Service Corps
Pins
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Special designed round enrollment pins existed for each of the several
Red Cross volunteer groups. All of these pins had a Red Cross in the middle,
but differed in color and other slight modifications in background design.
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Production Corps Volunteer Pin
(The Production Corps was the
largest Red Cross Service Group during WWII)
An overview of the different pins with notification
of their years of use can be found on the homepage of Shirley Powers,Volunteer
ARC Historian and ARC Collector: http://www.collectarc.com/volpins.html |
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Staff Corps
Volunteer Service Pin
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The Volunteer Service pins were fastened at the neck level of the
white shirt when the outdoor uniform was worn.
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On indoor uniforms, the Volunteer Service pin could be worn above
the left breast pocket or at the neck level.
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In ordinary dress, the Volunteer Service pin was worn on the left
breast. |
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Canteen Corps Volunteer Service Pin
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Motor Corps Volunteer Service Pin
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Exceptions of the wearing described above
were made in the following cases:
Members of the Motor Corps wore their Motor Corps Volunteer Service
pin on the left lapel of their coatdress. |
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Nurse's Aides Volunteer Pin
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The Nurse's Aides Volunteer Service pin shown in the picture on
the left side was worn at center front of the jumper at the neckline on
the Nurse's Aides uniform. |
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ARC Collar Device
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| The bronze ARC initial pins were worn on outdoor uniforms on each
side of the collar, parallel to the edge, 1/2" from the bottom. The bronze
initials were worn in subdued black metal or in their natural color. |
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ARC Buttons
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| A metal button with the Red Cross in the center was worn on the
Red Cross Outdoor Uniform and Topcoat. |
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Plastic buttons in brown or black color embossed with the Red Cross
in the center and the letters "American Red Cross" around it were worn
on the special outdoor uniform clothes of the Motor Corps and the Military
Welfare Service. |
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Ribbon Epaulets - Corps
Colors
Color on shoulder straps denoted the various services. Paid staff
and unenrolled volunteers wore plain epaulets.
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Below a few examples of the colors worn on the ribbon epaulets.
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| Administration Corps: red |
Staff Assistance Corps: yellow |
| Hospital and Recreation Corps: light gray |
Volunteer Nurse's Aide Corps: light blue |
| Home Service Corps: purple |
Canteen Corps: medium blue |
| Motor Corps: green |
Production Corps: dark blue |
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Motor Corps members who obtained a rank as lieutenant or captain
wore special rank insignia on the epaulets. They were made of diamond shaped
metal in silver or gold. Sergeants and Corporals wore special cloth patches
on both sleeves.
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Sleeve Patches and Tabs
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On Outdoor Uniforms
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General Service Patch
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On outdoor uniforms, the American Red Cross Service sleeve patch
was sewn on the upper left sleeve an inch below the shoulder seam.
Instead of the general Red Cross Service patch, special patches for
some of the services (like the Motor Corps Service, the Military Welfare
Service, the Emergency Service or the Clubmobile Service) were worn on
the outdoor uniforms.
/A huge collection of Red Cross sleeve patches can
be found under: http://www.collectarc.com/patch_main.html
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Note: The patch for the Military
and Naval Welfare Service ( shortened to "Military Welfare Service" on
the patch) was replaced in June 1945. The new patch stated "American Red
Cross Services to the Armed Forces".
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| Volunteers had the volunteer bar sewn one-half inch below the ARC
sleeve emblem.
Also special tabs indicating the qualification in special Red Cross
courses like Emergency First Aid, Blood Donor or Dietitian's Aid could
be worn at this place below the Red Cross Service patch. |
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Clubmobile captains could wear a special red tab sewn below the
Red Cross Clubmobile patch on the left sleeve of their jackets. The tab
was embroidered with white letters indicating the status as Clubmobile
captain, Group captain, Section Captain, etc.
(Further examples can be found under: http://www.collectarc.com/patch_saf.html
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The position as Clubmobile captain was given to some Clubmobile workers
by reason of field purposes for army administration and discipline. A Clubmobile
captain usually supervised 7 ARC personnel, such as supervisor of port
clubmobile operations at Southampton, England (where divisions assembled
before shipping across the channel to France).
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Indoor Uniforms
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On some indoor uniforms (like the Hospital and Recreation Corps
uniform, the Canteen Corps and Staff Assistance Corps uniform) a 2 1/2
inch wide square patch with the red cross in the center was worn on the
left breast pocket.
A smaller version of this patch (1 1/4 inch) was sewn on the center
of the white facing of the veil or coif that was worn with the corresponding
uniform. |
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| Members of the Nurse's Aides Corps wore a special sleeve patch (3
inch) on their white shirt sewn two inches below the shoulder seam. The
patch presented the combined emblems of the U.S. Office of Civilian Defense
(OCD) and the American Red Cross.
A smaller version (1 1/4 inch) of this patch was worn on the center
of the white facing of the Nurse's Aides cap. |
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.Service
Stripes
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The service bars and chevrons were embroidered in red. Overseas
stripes were embroidered in silver. The chevrons could be worn either on
the cuff or above the elbow.
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[ I. Development ]..[
II. Facts about the ARC ]..[
III. Uniforms ]..[
IV. Sources ]
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