Service to the Armed Forces
Visit Armed Forces Carolina at www.armedforcescarolina.org.
Part of the Red Cross mission is to keep the American people in touch with family members serving in the Armed Forces. Red Cross service to the military can be traced back to the Civil War when Clara Barton tended to wounded soldiers on the battlefield. Support for military is through our local chapter, and we can send emergency messages 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.
The Red Cross keeps military families connected with loved ones during times of crisis. Emergency communication messages include births, serious illness or death of an immediate family member. Our brave men and women in the Armed Forces face enough challenges without worrying about how their loved ones will contact them in an emergency - especially during times of conflict.
For information or assistance, please call 1-877-272-7337.
Please have this information ready to give:
- Service member’s full name
- rank
- branch of service (Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard)
- Social Security number
- date of birth
- unit military address
Also, please let the doctor/hospital know that you are giving your consent to release medical information on the sick or deceased person to the Red Cross worker to send emergency communication messages to the service member.
International Tracing Services/Red Cross Messages
Red Cross International Tracing Services helps families locate each other, send communication and learn each other’s fate. Often these services, which are conducted between people living in the United States and their relatives living in foreign countries, may be required for several years. To initiate a tracing request to find a relative in another country, contact Melody Poole at 704-633-3854, ext. 101.
International Tracing is for families who have been separated as a result of disaster or conflict, and who have essential information about the person, and have exhausted all other channels to contact their missing relative.
Red Cross Messages are written messages sent between prisoners of war and their relatives through the Red Cross, usually when no other communication is possible. The Red Cross Message service is also available to civilian victims of war, especially when postal systems have collapsed.