What would it be like to locate a wounded soldier's parents and bring them to see him before he died? Well, Margaret Diers knows. She was a Red Cross social worker during World War II.
Margaret Diers was born in 1901. When she finished high school, her mother wanted her to go to finishing school. She didn't want that. Not many girls back then went to college, but she was one of the lucky ones. When she started, she wasn't sure what she wanted to study. She took social work classes and when she graduated, she decided that she wanted to be a social worker with the Red Cross. She graduated in 1923. Mrs. Diers began work with united charities, which is now called welfare. From 1927-1931, she worked in disasters helping people after tornadoes, or fires, or hurricanes. In 1931, she went to work in the Chicago Relief and stayed there until 1936. Margaret Diers went back to college in 1938. From there she went into medical social work.
Volunteering is the best thing she ever did, and she said that if she had a choice she would do it again.
When the war began, she went to Greece on a troop ship. It took seventeen days to get there. She helped set up feeding and milk booths for the children there, and handed out needles to the women who sewed. Because of the war, they had no needles. She also trained "gray girls". They were volunteers recruited to visit patients and pass out books, cigarettes, and other things. She also organized social activities like the craft shop, and put together bookcarts. She also called the funeral homes to get leftover flowers for all the patients.
Whenever Margaret Diers needed to get around, she rode in a jeep. She said riding in a jeep on a bumpy road was her worst experience. She had a Russian driver. He always asked her the same question, "Where to my lady?"
Margaret never met anyone she wanted to marry during the war, but she didn't stop the boys from giving her gifts. One gave her a puppy. Even though it was against the rules to have pets, she asked permission and they let her keep it. They named it Furry. In every ward, Furry was famous. In one ward, a patient gave him a bell so he could be heard coming or going. She could not bring Furry back to the States with her but she will always remember him.
Margaret Diers had many experiences with the Red Cross. She did lots of traveling and saw much of the world. She eventually settled in Albuquerque because the climate was good for a hip she hurt.
She said volunteering is the best thing she ever did, and she said that if she had a choice she would do it again. It was the most interesting job she ever had. She said that if we ever get the chance to volunteer, we should. It might help us choose what we will be after we graduate. It helped her.
Margaret Diers never married, but she is quite happy where she is today.
- Heather Hurley