The United States Military Academy—the first military school
in the United States, was founded by Congress for the purpose
of educating and training young men in the theory and practice
of military science. Located at West Point, New York, the U.S.
Military Academy is often simply known as West Point.

On March 11, 1779, Congress established the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers to help plan, design and prepare environmental
and structural facilities for the U.S. Army.

Made up of civilian workers, members of the Continental Army
and French officers, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers played
an essential role in the critical Revolutionary War battles at
Bunker Hill, Saratoga and Yorktown.

Mississippi River improvements made by the Corps of
Engineers in 1890.

On July 26, 1775, the U.S. postal system was established by the
Second Continental Congress, with Benjamin Franklin as its first postmaster general. Franklin (1706-1790) put in place the
foundation for many aspects of today’s mail system.

Clarissa Harlowe Barton (December 25, 1821 – April 12, 1912)

Clara Barton was an American nurse who founded the American
Red Cross. She was a hospital nurse in the American Civil War,
a teacher, and a patent clerk. Since nursing education was not
then very formalized and she did not attend nursing school, she
provided self-taught nursing care. Barton is noteworthy for
doing humanitarian work and civil rights advocacy at a time
before women had the right to vote. She was inducted into the
National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1973.

 
Headquarters building of the American Red Cross,
Washington, D.C.

In the aftermath of World War II, the General Assembly
of the United Nations voted to establish the United
Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
(UNICEF), an organization to help provide relief and
support to children living in countries devastated by
the war.