[Released April 6, 1951. Dated April 5, 1951]
Dear Mr. Harriman:
I have been watching with the deepest interest the progress of the 1951 Red Cross Fund Campaign. I want to congratulate the millions of Americans who have already responded to this great cause. I want also to compliment you and the great band of other active Red Cross workers for your efforts.
But above all, I want everyone--particularly those who have not yet made their contribution--to know how vital the success of this campaign is to the welfare of our armed services and to our people.
Never in its glorious history has the Red Cross had such urgent tasks. It is serving our fighting men on the battlefields and at the training centers. It is training volunteers for civil defense for the welfare of the people at home if ever attacked. It is gathering blood to save military and civilian lives. These and other tasks have grown steadily as a consequence of the nation's need to mobilize for defense. If our countrymen are informed of these needs, I am sure they will subscribe and oversubscribe the campaign goal.
I urge my fellow Americans to give generously and promptly to the 1951 Red Cross Fund Campaign.
Very sincerely yours,
HARRY S. TRUMAN
[Mr. E. Roland Harriman, President, The American National Red Cross, National Headquarters, Washington 13, D.C.]
Note: Mr. Harriman's letter, dated March 30, was released with the President's reply. The letter stated that the Red Cross fund campaign was failing short of its goal and that a substantial increase in the original fund estimates would be needed because of the additional responsibilities placed upon the Red Cross by the Korean conflict.
Harry S Truman, Letter to the President of the Red Cross on the Progress of the Fund Campaign. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/230382