Army Emergency Relief

Army Emergency Relief (AER) is a non-profit, charitable organization independent of, but closely associated with the United States Army. AER was established on Feb. 5, 1943, in Washington, DC, by Secretary of War Henry Stinson and Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Marshall, with $1.5 million in seed money from the American Red Cross and $12 million from Irving Berlin's musical, "This is the Army." It was incorporated as a non-profit organization to meet the emergency financial needs of a rapidly expanding Army.