Public Invited to American Red Cross Flag-Raising Ceremony; Local Man to be Honored for Red Cross Service During World War II
News Release: February 26, 2001
Contact: Janice Osborne, Manager-Media & Community Affairs
(610) 865-4400, ext. 262
March is Red Cross Month and the Lehigh Valley Chapter, American Red Cross will kick off the national commemoration with a flag-raising ceremony on Thursday, March 1, at noon in the Public Hearing Room at the Lehigh County Government Center, Seventh and Hamilton streets in Allentown. The public is invited.
"Red Cross Month is a time designated by the President of the United States to recognize the life-saving differences the American Red Cross makes for people in the Lehigh Valley and around the world every day," said John Hughes, executive director of the Lehigh Valley American Red Cross. "During the past year, the efforts of dedicated
Red Cross volunteers and employees in our community have helped more than 600 individuals faced with disasters such as fire and flooding receive immediate and essential assistance. More than 15,500 people attended local American Red Cross classes and received the skills they may someday need to save a life."
Special tribute will be paid to honorary guest Robert O. A. Wolfe, former Red Cross field service director who earned recognition for his Red Cross service in the Marshall Islands during World War II. In 1945, he received an American National Red Cross Overseas Service Certificate signed by former President Franklin D. Roosevelt in recognition of his meritorious performance as a representative of the Red Cross. Hughes will present Wolfe with a framed citation from the Lehigh Valley American Red Cross for his commitment to the organization.
Lehigh County Executive Jane Ervin will host the ceremony which traditionally rotates between the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton. Dignitaries invited to the ceremony include area U.S. and state senators and representatives; Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton mayors; and key Lehigh and Northampton community and business leaders.
George Fennell, business manager for The Marine Band of Allentown, will play the trumpet during the opening ceremonies.
Light refreshments will be served after the ceremony. Parking is available across from the government center on Seventh Street.
Wolfe, a native of Allentown and a former Morning Call reporter, spent a year in the South and Central Pacific during 1943 and 1944 as a Red Cross field director
responsible for the welfare and recreational services for the Marines. He was the first Red Cross field director to be attached to a Marine Corps Air group and the first Red Cross officer to set foot in the Marshall Islands.
Wolfe's Marine Red Cross unit centered its work about recreation such as softball, volleyball, swimming, cards and music to help bolster morale and keep the minds of Marines off aerial attacks and impending landing operations.
Wolfe's unit also was responsible for emergency cases that arose in combat zones. The Red Cross was the only medium of contact in emergency between the personnel in the field and their family at home.
He and his wife, Elsie, have two sons, a daughter and five grandchildren.
For more information, call the Lehigh Valley Chapter Red Cross at (610) 865-4400, or visit www.redcrosslv.org.
The American Red Cross is a humanitarian organization, led by volunteers, that provides relief to victims of disasters and helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies.
The Lehigh Valley Red Cross serves more than 620,000 residents in Lehigh and Northampton counties. Last year the Red Cross provided health and safety education training and emergency relief services to nearly 15,500 Lehigh Valley residents.
