Relief Worker Memorial

Between 1915 and 1930, more than one thousand men and women answered the call to serve with Near East Relief. They traveled overseas – often at great personal risk – to serve as doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers, administrators, drivers, and caregivers. In orphanages, hospitals, feeding stations, rescue homes, and refugee camps, these volunteers provided hope and care under the most challenging conditions.

The Memorial Wall honors these relief workers to preserve their place in history. Each record represents an individual who contributed to Near East Relief’s mission, documented through photographs, archival materials, and biographical notes. This is a living memorial. As new materials and family histories come to light, these records will expand to reflect a fuller understanding of those who served.

The profiles below are the first names on the wall. More are added as archival research continues and as families share letters, photographs, and records that help complete a worker’s story.

† Indicates a relief worker who died while in service.

Discover the men and women who served with Near East Relief

Search by name or browse the alphabetical list to find individual profiles.

Selecting a name opens a profile featuring a photograph, a biographical sketch, and links to highlights from related materials. Please note that the depth of these records varies; some are extensive, while others remain fragmentary, depending on what has survived in the historical record.

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Contribute to the Memorial

The official records of Near East Relief document its operations, but the fullest accounts of individual service are often held privately. Letters, diaries, photographs, and personal papers kept by relief workers and their descendants frequently contain information found nowhere else in the historical record.

If a member of your family served with Near East Relief, we encourage you to contact us. Materials of any scope may be significant — a photograph can identify a worker at a particular station, and correspondence can establish dates and postings that no institutional source confirms.

Contributed materials are digitized for the museum and returned to their owners. Where families wish to place original items in permanent archival care, we can assist with deposit at the Rockefeller Archive Center.

Inquiries may be directed to [email protected].

Contribute Materials

Answering the Call
How America Mobilized

Collections
Photographs, letters, and field reports from the relief effort

Resources
For families, students, educators, and researchers

Virtual Exhibit

A Legacy of Service

A Memorial to Volunteer Relief Workers