It’s our tradition to save lives from starvation

Guest Column | William Lambers

It was March 1945 and the Allied Expeditionary Force, under the command of Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, was getting closer to defeating the Nazi German war machine.

But there was another enemy threatening Europe: hunger. A report prepared by British officer Lt. General Sir Arthur E Grasett, detailed an emergency stockpile of food in the liberated section of the Netherlands.

This food was meant for starving Dutch civilians in German-occupied areas as soon as liberation and access could be achieved. With famine conditions developing, this food would be lifesaving. Some of the supplies had already been used to feed Belgium war victims. The Allies had to replenish the food stockpile. Food from the U.S. was also sent to a British stockpile to be used for relief.

It was this preparation by the Allies that saved lives at the end of World War II. Airdrops of food were followed by truck deliveries to feed millions throughout the Netherlands. This is one of many great episodes in American history.

This great American tradition goes back to the famine after World War I. In 1919 a New York Times headline read "1,000,000 Children Saved by America" detailing relief work in Poland.

Even after the 1918 Armistice, the struggle against hunger continued.

It was the American Relief Administration that carried out heroics in war-torn nations, feeding the hungry. The American people, including the Congress, supported these relief efforts.

In the Times article Dr. Boris Bogen described how war victims in Poland were eating leaves and grass. Children did not know what bread was or even tasted milk. The American Relief Administration turned things around setting up kitchens “everywhere" in Poland that fed malnourished children.

The ARA also did heroic work in Latvia bringing food to starving people even as conflict continued among armed groups. One of the U.S. soldiers in the ARA even helped arrange a cease fire in Latvia to allow humanitarian aid to be delivered. School lunch programs were set up to counter famine.

We must carry on such noble missions in today's world as famine again looms.

At this very moment famine is threatening war victims in Gaza and Sudan. Burkina Faso, the D.R. Congo and Afghanistan are also suffering severe hunger. In the Horn of Africa it is drought that is creating the conditions for famine.

There is a race against time in the African nation of Chad to get food pre-positioned ahead of the rainy season when roads flood. This is food for Sudanese war victims who have fled to Chad. But the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) does not have enough funding to get the food in place.

That is one of many tales of the tragic shortage of resources for the WFP and other relief agencies. The WFP has even been forced to reduce rations in some countries because of the lack of funds.

That’s why it’s important for you to speak out against this injustice. Write to Congress and tell them to support humanitarian aid funding.

Heroic efforts to fight hunger are only possible if they have the support of the American public, leading the Congress to take action.

William Lambers is an author who partnered with the U.N. World Food Program on the book “Ending World Hunger.”