Honoring the Trailblazing “Hello Girls” of World War I: Pioneers in Communication and Service

The Signal Corps Female Telephone Operators Unit, known as the “Hello Girls”, was a unit of women who operated telephone switchboards, sworn into the U.S. Army Signal Corps, during World War I. The term, “Hello Girls”, was used for women who first greeted callers with the word “hello”.

The corps was formed due to a call by General John J. Pershing in 1917 to improve communications on the Western front. With this call, over 7,000 women applied, and 223 women were accepted into the unit. Many of them had backgrounds in telephone communications working at different telephone companies. The women trained at different camps throughout the U.S., including Camp Grant, IL; Camp Fort Meade, MD; Camp Dodge, IA; Camp Devens, Ayers, MA; and Camp Lewis, WA. The unit completed their training at Camp Franklin, MD.

Under the lead Chief Operator, Grace Banker, the first telephone operators left for Europe in March 1918. Before long, the “Hello Girls” were operating telephone switchboards and exchanging calls of the American Expeditionary Forces in many French and British locations, including Paris, Chaumont, London, Southampton, and Winchester. Telephone communications improved by July 1918 due in part to the addition of more women operators. A team of telephone operators-maintained communications during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.

The “Hello Girls” continued their service after the Armistice. They were transferred to Paris and began being discharged in 1919. The final operator was discharged on January 20, 1920. Chief Operator Grace Banker was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.

Although the “Hello Girls” served in the military, wore Army uniforms, and subjected to Army regulations, they were denied honorable discharge papers because they were considered civilian employees by the Army. Between 1927 and 1977, many bills were introduced to Congress to obtain recognition for the “Hello Girls”. One of the “Hello Girls”, Merle Egan Anderson, continued these efforts in the 1970s along with the Veteran Affairs Administration and the American Legion. Their efforts finally persuaded Congress to pass a bill and was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter in November 1977. 60 years after the end of World War I, the “Hello Girls” were finally recognized as veterans and received their honorably discharged papers.

Join us for the Grave Dedication Ceremony honoring Juliette Courtial Smith, a brave Hello Girl and WWI veteran, on Friday, August 23, 2024, at 11 a.m. at St. Francis Solano Cemetery, Sonoma, CA. Let’s celebrate her legacy and sacrifice.

Read the entire article on the AMVETS website here:

External Web Site Notice: This page contains information directly presented from an external source. The terms and conditions of this page may not be the same as those of this website. Click here to read the full disclaimer notice for external web sites. Thank you.