The North Texas chapter of the American Red Cross is located at 4800 Harry Hines Blvd in the Medical District area of Dallas. The Red Cross is very close to Parkland Hospital (Dallas' public hospital), Children's Medical Center at Dallas, and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School campus.
Inside the building is a long display of Red Cross History and memorabilia, including a pair of wool socks knitted by volunteers organized by the Red Cross of Dallas and sent to a US Army Captain at the European front during WWII. He brought them home and kept them for decades, before finding them and sending them BACK to the Dallas Red Cross, hoping they would be part of a display.
Two letters were enclosed with the socks, as follows:
"22 Feb 2014
Seventy years ago, you sent me a paid of hand-knitted, khaki wool socks. I was a captain in the Army Air Corps at the time, and came across them again in a forgotten nook just last week.
They are in excellent near-new condition, and I wondered whether you might like to gave them for a “nostalgia display case” or something of the kind of you have such.
I am nearly 92, and I fear they will be discarded when I am gone. They deserve a better fate.
Thank you for thinking of us servicemen even though more than a half-century has gone by for these belated thanks.
G. J. D’Angelo
Philadelphia PA"
[handwritten note]
"3/11/14
Here are the socks with my belated thanks to whoever knit them.
Dr G. J. D’Angelo"
That was the coolest thing we saw in the museum!
The Red Cross of North Texas still assembles cadres of volunteers to knit baby caps for newborns at Baylor, Childrens's and Parkland hospitals, although it appears that knitted woolen socks for soldiers are a project of the past, being supplanted with cooling wraps for soldier's necks.
From the website: (
visit link)
"Red Cross of North Texas
The American Red Cross in Your Community
The American Red Cross of North Texas serves a population of over 9 million people in 121 counties and is made up of 7 local chapters including: Dallas Fort Worth, Texoma Area, Texas Panhandle, Texas South Plains, East Texas, Northeast Texas & Texas Big Country.
Volunteer Opportunities
In North Texas, volunteers make up more than 95% of the Red Cross work force. Would you like to be a disaster worker, CPR teacher or maybe an office volunteer in the North Texas area? The American Red Cross depends on volunteers to deliver services, prepare families and help ease suffering caused by emergencies. By taking the next step and filling out our application, you will have the opportunity to find the right volunteer job that maximizes your skills and availability.
Fill out an application to volunteer in the North Texas area and take the first step making a difference in your community!
Volunteers carry out 90% of the humanitarian work of the Red Cross. Our vital work is only possible because of people like you.
Whether helping one displaced family or thousands, providing care and comfort to an ill or injured service member or veteran, or teaching others how to respond in emergencies, it’s through the efforts of ordinary people that we can do extraordinary things."