Clashing with Reality: Attitudes about the Red Cross

While the image of the Red Cross nurse was lauded and propagated the myth of the brave patriotic nurse serving her country dutifully, the realities of nursing proved complex and far grimmer than advertised. The romantic image of nursing soldiers completely shattered when faced with overcrowded military hospitals low on supplies and in constant danger of bombardment. The gruesome injuries of the soldiers weighed heavily on nurses as well as the constant presence of death. For the nurse, whether with the Red Cross or otherwise, they viewed themselves as fighting a constant battle against death and disease within the hospital.

The reality of nurses is further complicated by the diverging backgrounds and beliefs of many nurses serving during the war. Some viewed their occupation as a source for empowerment and gladly fought for women’s suffrage and for a national nurse’s registry, not all the professional nurses felt the same. Some nurses did not want suffrage and the idea of a national registry also held no appeal for others. While all found common cause in their work and services, they were also divided in their beliefs and backgrounds and the disagreements resulting from them continued even after Armistice.

Distance between Europe and the US Home Front also contributed to a disconnect between how those at home viewed the Red Cross and how the Red Cross workers viewed themselves. While few personal accounts from nurses appear, the letters of other Red Cross workers provide examples of this disconnect. In this case, the letters of Phillip A. Buttrick provide an illuminating look into this disconnect.

Lieutenant Buttrick initially went overseas to serve with the Red Cross in France. He mostly handled infrastructure of Red Cross buildings in France before leaving the organization to join the French Army before Armistice. While Phillip lauds the bravery and disposition of his fellow Red Cross workers, nurses included, his reasons for leaving the organization came from a place of dissatisfaction with his work. Phillip exchanged frequent letters with his family, and from one letter written to his father, it is implied that his family did not react joyfully to his decision to leave the Red Cross. He explains his reasoning, “I am glad that you are interested in the work of the Red Cross, it is an extremely valuable work but it is secondary work.” He then goes on to express his dissatisfaction with the demographic makeup of the organization and to comment that the Red Cross ranks are devalued compared with that of the regular service.

Buttrick’s reasoning here, as is his observation that the organization is mostly women, clearly displays the disconnect between his own perceptions and that of his fathers, as he clearly mentions his family’s pride in his connections. Yet another gap between ideal and reality.