[KWE Note: This section of our website's Women in Korea page would not have been possible without referencing the extensive history of SRAO written by Sue Behrens. To add more information to this section, contact the KWE.]
When the Korean War broke out, the staff of the American Red Cross stepped forward to bring memories of the home front and hospitality to American soldiers, sailors and marines serving in the Far East Command. Red Cross clubs and clubmobiles began to make their appearance in Korea as early as September of 1950. Red Cross club staff members opened their first club in an abandoned schoolhouse at Pusan, and it became the base for clubmobile operations. After the first club opened, five others opened at various airfields. The clubmobiles traveled to air strips, triage areas, replacement depots and debarkation points throughout Korea.
The clubs provided games, spaces to write letters home, and eating areas for snacks. Staff members organized participation activities and provided all sorts of entertainment--including a spectacular show by remnants of the Seoul Symphony Orchestra. The Red Cross girls hosted a weekly radio program on Armed Forces Korea Network Radio, distributed about 600 birthday cards to servicemen in Korea, and served 11,000-15,000 freshly-baked donuts per month. After Korean bakers supplied them with donuts, the Red Cross "Donut Dollies" traveled throughout Korea, distributing the donuts to disbelieving men who were happy to see a female face in the war zone. North of the Imjin River, the girls put on their flak jackets and helmets and traveled closer to the front lines in sandbagged trucks. Their duties went beyond distributing donuts and entertaining homesick servicemen, too. For instance, they met ships carrying troops that were carrying troops being evacuated from the Chosin Reservoir area, serving over 10,000 men each day, and they were on hand at the DMZ to wave a huge welcome to the returning crew of the captured USS Pueblo, later greeting the men while they were receiving medical care. The last Red Cross club was turned over to Special Services on June 15, 1952 at the Seoul airfield where it was located. Then known was the American Red Cross Clubmobile Service, the name changed to Supplemental Recreational Activities Overseas (SRAO). Operations continued for the remainder of 1952 under the new name, but the women who worked there were still called Donut Dollies.
The American Red Cross Headquarters received a request on June 18, 1953 to reinstate the Red Cross clubmobile operations in Korea and the program restarted in October 1953. The first clubmobile unit (with five staff members) began near Inchon at the Army Support Command (ASCOM) on October 3, 1953. The 3rd Infantry Division requested a clubmobile unit on October 21, 1953 and it opened three days later. These requests were followed by 8th Division and 45th Division requests for clubmobile units. Well before Christmas that year there were 10 SARO units with 75 staff members in operation. By December 1960, Behrens noted that there were six clubmobile units making 360 military locations on a weekly basis.
Clubmobile operations in Korea ended in March of 1973 From 1953 to 1973 there were 899 Donut Dollies in South Korea. Two of the girls were seriously injured while traveling in the Pusan area and hospitalized at the 121st Evacuation Hospital. In far-away Korea, SARO staffers listened to the devastating Armed Forces Radio news about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. When the Vietnam War broke out, some of the veteran Red Cross workers who were in Korea were transferred over to Vietnam to help improve the morale of the men serving in that bloody war. At the end of 1965 and into early 1966, the first clubmobile units in Vietnam were mostly staffed by transfers from Korea. The SRAO program also opened clubs in Europe, but the girls in Vietnam and Europe never served the famous Donut Dollie donuts to servicemen in those theatres.
According to Sue Behrens: "Over the years of the program, 899 young women served in Korea. Through those years they traveled 2,900,000 miles over Korea's rugged terrain. None of them would ever forget the roads, nor at the end of them, the appreciation of the men they reached."
Babraitis, Rita - 1967 - She was from Boston.
Barksdale, Mary Kennon
Barnes, Harriett - She served with the 7th Division, arriving December 17, 1954. She was from Grinnell, Iowa.
Berry, Nadine
Brown, Lillian "Rusty" - In 1951-52 she was stationed at 5th Air Force Advance Headquarters, Seoul, Korea. For more about Lillian Brown, see Black Americans Topics page on the KWE.
Calcese, Nancy - July 1969 to September 1970 she was a donut dolly for the 2nd and 7th Divisions at Camp Cloud, Korea. She was an assistant director of SARO at Saigon from May 1971 to May 1972..
Chapin, Jean
Cherry, JoAnna - Camp Pelham
Crawford, "Mike" - She was serving as a donut dolly in December 1970.
Cromwell, Mary Jane - This African-American woman served in Korea in 1953, and then went on to serve in SRAO in Europe and then Stateside USA.
Cruise, Ella - first assistant supervisor in Korea
Custer, Pat
Davidson, Marie - Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, this former professional figure skater served in the Red Cross for 10 years and then switched to Army Special Services. She was stationed in Korea numerous times, one year in Japan working in hospitals, six months in Verdun, France, 18 months in Turkey, 20 months in Vietnam in five locations, and Alaska. In all, she had 38 years of military recreation program history.
Deason, Mildred Ella - "Mildred Ella Deason, 95, of Parrish, passed away Thursday, February 4, 2021, at Walker Baptist Medical Center. A graveside service will be held on Monday, February 8 at 1 p.m., at Zion Church of Christ Cemetery of Parrish, with Kilgore-Green Funeral Home directing. John Thomaston will officiate. Mildred was born in America, Alabama, and is a graduate of Parrish High School, Alabama College for Women “University of Montevallo” Columbia University of New York City. She taught physical Education at University of Montevallo, University of Mississippi and Austin Peay University of Clarkesville, Tennessee, where she was Dean of Women. She served in the American Red Cross in Korea, Vietnam and Europe and North Africa. After Mildred retired, she worked as a security officer at Drummond Company in Jasper. Her favorite hobby was bird watching and spending time with family and friends. She was a member of Zion Church of Christ. She was preceded in death by her parents, Elbert B. Deason Sr. and Edith J. Deason; siblings, Edith Deason, Thomaston Short and Elbert B. “Ebb” Deason Jr. She is survived by her brother, Pick Deason, sister-in-law wife of Ebb, Wadene and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends." [Source: Obituary]
Denney, Betty - 1967
Dixon, Sue - 1967
Doherty, Pat - Korea 1955. She was from Arlington, Massachusetts.
Draper, Barbara - 1968 - 2nd Infantry Division
Drosdick, Liz - 1967/68
Dumbrigue, Cece - Korea and Vietnam
Edmondson, Pat Prince - DMZ
Fearing, Donna - 1959 1st Cavalry
Fields, Claudia - 1968 - 2nd Infantry Division
Gardner, Val
Garvin, Eva - served from winter 1959 to 1960
Goplerud, Ann - During World War II she served in the Red Cross and sang at hospitals and for troops moving out. She became incredibly popular and even earned the name “Ann of Iowa.” She also served in the Red Cross during the Korean War. Her papers are housed in Special Collections and Archives, Grinnell College. [Source: Grinnell College website]
Greene, Mary Alice - one of the girls who met the returning Pueblo Crew. She also sang Ave Maria in a memorial service for a deceased Pueblo crew member.
Griffith, Virginia "Ginny" - Red Cross club supervisor
Grigas, Judy - injured (back injury) in a jeep accident in September 1971
Gulley, Margaret - World War II and Korea - "Margaret (Marge) O. Gulley was born in LaSalle, Illinois in 1920, the sixth child of Vincent and Theresa O'Bid. Although she was a child of the depression era, her family supported her education and she graduated from the University of Chicago with an AB in 1942. She taught school for two years in a one room country schoolhouse. Marge contributed to the war effort by serving in the American Red Cross (A.R.C), first in France where her group was named "Noah's A.R.C.," and later in Nuremberg where she was responsible for troop recreation and also aided townspeople displaced by war. She attended some of the Nuremberg Trials. She continued her service in the Far East and at the Swedish Red Cross Hospital during the Korean Conflict. Her Red Cross career positioned her to attend the coronation of the King of Siam and to have a private audience with Pope Pius XII. She moved to Chapel Hill in 1955 and began her long and distinguished career in the University of North Carolina Pathology Department. She received a Master's degree in Recreation Administration and Counseling from the University of North Carolina in 1966. Except for an 18-month interval to have a child, she was on Department staff until her retirement in June 1990. She served as departmental business manager and was recognized with the C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Award for 33 years of exemplary service to the University. Upon her retirement, the annual Margaret O. Gulley award was established to honor a Department of Pathology administrative staff member for outstanding performance. After retirement, Marge was a proud Grandma, and she remained active with the American Red Cross Overseas Association (ARCOA) and in volunteer organizations. She loved to cook treats for her family and to tell stories of her adventures. In the past year she continued morning swims, attended a White House Ceremony honoring Red Cross Volunteers, and was awarded the Korean Ambassador for Peace Medal for her Korean War volunteer service. She died peacefully at Carol Woods Health Center on May 11, 2016 and donated her body to science. She is survived by her daughter Margaret (Peggy) L. Gulley, MD who is married to John W. Williams Jr, MD and their children, Kate and Meg. Her legacy is reflected in Peggy and Meg who carry on the family tradition as pathologists and Kate, who is a member of ARCOA and an international education coordinator. Memorial gifts may be made to the UNC Pathology Department or to ARCOA. A Celebration of Life will be held Monday, May 23 at 4pm at the Carol Woods Retirement Community, 750 Weaver Dairy Rd., Chapel Hill." [Source: obituary]
Haas, Edith Joan - Red Cross aide - later married Henry R.C. Elser - She was born June 24, 1923/died February 1994 in West Chester, Pennsylvania
Hayes, Vivian - one of the girls who met the returning Pueblo crew
Heinzelman, Susie - 1967
Herman, Joyce - 1967
Hines, Shirley - She arrived in Korea on March 16, 1970 as the first black Donut Dolly. From Korea she went on to serve in Vietnam.
Hopkins, Judy - 1968 - 2nd Infantry Division
Hunter, Jessica - first assistant supervisor in Korea. She had been a World War II WAC in the Far East.
Jones, Nancy - SRAO assistant director in Korea
Kessler, Harriet Smoak - She was a Red Cross staff member in Pusan (and later Japan) during the Korean War. Born October 24, 1922 in South Carolina, she died in June of 2021. " Harriet Smoak Kessler, 98, of Piney Flats, passed away at her residence following a recent hospitalization. She was born on October 24, 1922, in Colleton County, South Carolina. She was a daughter of the late Gilbert Leonardus Smoak and Adelphia Ritter Smoak. Harriet joined the American Red Cross following earning a Bachelor of Arts degree at Furman University. She served her country during the Korean War, being stationed in what is now Busan, South Korea, as well as in Japan. Upon returning stateside, she continued to serve veterans returning from combat, working on different military bases and at VA hospitals. She earned her Master of Social Work degree at the University of Tennessee, Memphis, in 1957. It was in Memphis that she met her beloved husband of 57 years. In 1967, she moved with her family to Wise, Virginia, and began work at the Mental Health Clinic. She cherished this work, developing a deep affection for the people of Southwest Virginia. To her final days, Harriet often spoke of the open hearts and great generosity of the Mountain Community. In her retirement, she was still active for many years in the management of the rental business now known as Kessler Properties. As a strong Christian woman, Harriet knew there was only one brief life in this world before being united whole in the next. This did not, however, keep her from living each day with great enthusiasm, strong conviction, and a lasting sense of humor. Many of her conversations began, “If I only had 100 lives to live, I would…” or ended in sidesplitting laughter. In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her husband and constant companion, Dr. William A. Kessler, with whom she shared life from their marriage in 1958 until his passing in 2015, and several siblings. She is survived by her daughter, Cynthia S. Kessler; grandson, Martin William Convers; and several nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews. The family of Harriet Kessler will receive friends from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, at Morris-Baker Funeral Home. A funeral service will follow at 5:00 PM, officiated by Pastor Sean Glenn. Immediately following the service, a committal will be held at the St. Paul United Methodist Church Cemetery, 1655 Allison Road, Piney Flats, Tennessee 37686.
Klaiss, Beth
Kotcher, Joann Puffer - Served in Korea and then arrived in Vietnam in 1966.
Kresbach, Helen - 1968 - 2nd Infantry Division
Lascola, Linda - 1968 - 2nd Infantry Division
LeGrande, Joyce - Korea and Vietnam. She was one of the first five Red Cross staf members to be sent into Vietnam after that war started.
Lewis, Sue - March 1962, 1967
Macdonald, Bennett
Mace, Barbara - She arrived in Korea February 1959 and served with the 1st Cavalry.
McCann, Billie - 1961
McCaskill, Penny - I Corps
Meares, Anne - 1968 - 2nd Division
Meyner, Helen Day Stevenson - She arrived in Japan on November 3, 1950 and was assigned to the 5th Station military hospital at Johnson Air Base, Iramangawa, Japan. In April 13, 1951 she arrived at the ARC club in Pusan until October 1951. At that time she was transferred to a club at K13, Suwon Air Base until returning to the States in January 1952. She married Robert B. Meyner, who became the governor of New Jersey. As such, Helen was the First Lady of New Jersey from 1957 to 1962. Helen was the Democratic U.S. Representative from New Jersey from 1975 to 1979. Born March 5, 1929, she died November 02, 1997. [See the Meyner Papers, Skillman Library, Lafayette College.]
Michaels, Zelda - 1968 - 2nd Division
Miller, Janet - She served with the 7th Division, arriving in Korea December 17, 1954.
Mitchell, Connie - unit head when the girls met the returning Pueblo crew
Moore, Gay - 1967
Moorehead, Helen - 1968 - 2nd Division
Moran, Patricia (later Pat Lorge) - Korea 1969-70 and 1972-73. She was the last assistant director and doubled as program supervisor.
Morey, Linda - 1967
Neal, Kathi - served with the 7th Division 1967
Nichols, Cissy - 1968
Niedenthal, Mary - arrived in Korea straight from Vietnam
O'Connor, Cathy - SRAO assistant director. She met and married Army captain Dennis Berrean who was stationed in the Seoul area. On December 1968 Cathy completed her tour in Korea, married Denny, and became a Red Cross volunteer in the Seoul SRAO office.
O'Fiaro, Suzanne - December 1969 she was a Donut Dollie for the 2nd Division
Olifant, Amber "Cindy" - arrived in Korea Spring 1960
Olson, Diane - DMZ with 2nd Division
Paro, Helen - 1959 - 1st Cavalry
Patson, Penny
Petrillo, Lynn - March 1962
Pettigrew, Barb - 1966
Printz, Joanne - 1967
Reher, Toni - December 1969 she was a Donut Dolly for the 2nd Division
Reynolds, Joanne "Jody" Ahrold - She arrived at Munson-ni, Korea in support of the 1st Cavalry in June 1965. In October 1965 she was the new Program Director in Taegu, Pusan, supporting the 2nd Infantry Division. She went on to serve with the Red Cross in Vietnam (Cam Ranh Bay) in January 1966. She was from Des Moines, Iowa in 2019.
Robeson, Laurie - 1968
Rose, Jenny - stationed at Camp Saint Barbara
Schrader, Esther - one of the girls who met the returning Pueblo crew
Schweitzer, Edna - SRAO director in Korea to close the program and hospital field director in Vietnam
Scotchmer, Mazie - 1967
Shackleford, Brenda - injured (fractured collarbone) in a jeep accident in September 1971
Sherrard, Dorothy "Duf" - I Corps Artillery, Camp Saint Barbara
Simpson, Melinda - one of the girls who met the returning Pueblo crew
Smith, Diane - Vietnam Donut Dolly and then Korea Donut Dolly - She was a recreation director at RC#2 Service Club. She was from Georgia.
Smith, Quinn - She served 18 months in Korea as SRAO director and then served in the same role in Vietnam.Eventually there were 10 SRA0 units in Korea providing staff for clubs, canteens and mobile vehicles.
Storey, Elizabeth Ann - 1967/1968 - 2nd Infantry Division
Sturm, Mele - 1968
Sutton, Cindy
Takell, Etta - This African-American woman served in Korea 1953 and then a second tour in 1955.
Tennyson, Jane - program supervisor at Seoul
Tibbot, Gladys - She replaced Quinn Smith for her second tour as SRAO director. Gladys was diagnosed with cancer, was medically returned to the States, and died the next year.
Toombs, Pat (later Green) - She arrived at Camp Pelham, 1st Cavalry Division, ASCOM City, in Korea November 1962 and left in February 1964. Her nickname was "Toombsie". Back in the States, she worked for the Red Cross as a recreation worker at the US Naval Hospital (Balboa). After her Red Cross career she worked as a medical social worker in hospitals until she retired.
Trask, Joanna - served with the 7th Division
Van Vechten, Marie-Louise "Metzie" - The first supervisor in Korea
Varn, Lib - two tours in Korea and the second assistant director
Watson, Katie - 1953 - She was from Denton, Texas.
Wendler, Wendy - 1968 - 2nd Division
Woods, Jan Small - ASCOM Depot, Korea, June 1966-November 1966; Dian Vietnam, 1st Infantry - November 1966-May 1967; Phu Loi Vietnam, May 1967-July 1967
Wilkins, Joanne - program director when the girls met the returning Pueblo crew
Wren, Kate
Wriston, Jane - 1961 - She was a recreation supervisor in Tokyo that trained staff before they went on to Korea. She was from Albany, New York.
Anderson, Norman, The Donut Dollies: A Documentary. Anderson was the writer and director. Members of the cast were former Donut Dollies.
Behrens, Sue, The SRAO Story, 1986. Behrens served in the SRAO and wrote a history of the program in all three theatres (Korea, Vietnam and Europe). She was a clubmobile staff member in Korea in 1953.
Collins, Elizabeth M., Donut Dollies at the DMZ
Kotcher, Joann Puffer, Donut Dolly: An American Girl's War in Vietnam. Joann was a Donut Dolly in Korea and Vietnam.
Norris, Ann, Red Cross Girls Train Here for Work in Vietnam, Korea, The Daily Progress, June 27, 1968.
Stewart, Kathleen A., Coffee, Doughnuts, and a Witty Line of Chatter: The Korean War Letters of Helen Stevenson Meyner, university thesis, 1998.
Vuic, Kara Dixon, The Girls Next Door, Bringing the Home Front to the Front Lines