History of the Signal Corp Female Telephone Operators Unit
Although the term 'Hello Girls' was used by the Signal Corps, it did not originate there. It had been the common name used for switchboard operators who would say "hello" when you rang the switch as opposed to calling direct.The earliest reference to Hello Girls is in Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court written in 1889.
The history of the Signal Corp "Hello Girls" begins in late 1917 when General Pershing made his emergency appeal for bilingual telephone switchboard operators. Published in newspapers throughout the United States, it specifically sought French-speaking American women who held the position of switchboard operator in the new Bell Telephone Company.
Pershing wanted women because, as he stated, they have the patience and perseverance to do long, arduous detailed work. He had found that men in the Signal Corps had difficulty operating the switchboards for these reasons. He also wanted men to be in the field stringing wire necessary for communication from the trenches to the A.E.F. GHQ at Chaumont. It was the first time in the history of warfare that soldiers in the front-lines were connected to the General command.
Over 7,000 American women applied. There were few, however, among the 700 volunteers throughout Bell Telephone, who spoke French. In selecting the first 300, the age requirement and even the switchboard training was waived. Married women were accepted if not married to anyone serving overseas.
After being sworn into the U.S. Army, they began their Signal Corps training at Camp Franklin, now a part of Fort George G. Meade in Maryland. They were given the same status as nurses and were subject to all Army regulations, including Court-Martial, with ten extra regulations placed on them to assure their moral character. They had the rank of lieutenant and had to buy their own uniforms.
The first operators left for Europe in March 1918, under the lead of Chief Operator Grace Banker. Members of this unit were soon operating telephones in many exchanges of the American Expeditionary Forces in Paris, Chaumont and seventy-five other French locations as well as British locations in London, Southampton and Winchester.
Because they were considered civilians employees of the military, they were not given honorable discharges because Army regulations specified the male gender. In 1978, the 60th anniversary of the end of World War I, Congress approved Veteran Status/Honorable discharges for the remaining Signal Corp Hello Girls. For the seventy women still alive, there was nation-wide coverage in the newspaper. Each was visited by a General of the U.S. Army and handed her Honorable Discharge in a ceremony at her home.
Pershing wanted women because, as he stated, they have the patience and perseverance to do long, arduous detailed work. He had found that men in the Signal Corps had difficulty operating the switchboards for these reasons. He also wanted men to be in the field stringing wire necessary for communication from the trenches to the A.E.F. GHQ at Chaumont. It was the first time in the history of warfare that soldiers in the front-lines were connected to the General command.
Over 7,000 American women applied. There were few, however, among the 700 volunteers throughout Bell Telephone, who spoke French. In selecting the first 300, the age requirement and even the switchboard training was waived. Married women were accepted if not married to anyone serving overseas.
After being sworn into the U.S. Army, they began their Signal Corps training at Camp Franklin, now a part of Fort George G. Meade in Maryland. They were given the same status as nurses and were subject to all Army regulations, including Court-Martial, with ten extra regulations placed on them to assure their moral character. They had the rank of lieutenant and had to buy their own uniforms.
The first operators left for Europe in March 1918, under the lead of Chief Operator Grace Banker. Members of this unit were soon operating telephones in many exchanges of the American Expeditionary Forces in Paris, Chaumont and seventy-five other French locations as well as British locations in London, Southampton and Winchester.
Because they were considered civilians employees of the military, they were not given honorable discharges because Army regulations specified the male gender. In 1978, the 60th anniversary of the end of World War I, Congress approved Veteran Status/Honorable discharges for the remaining Signal Corp Hello Girls. For the seventy women still alive, there was nation-wide coverage in the newspaper. Each was visited by a General of the U.S. Army and handed her Honorable Discharge in a ceremony at her home.
