Join the effort to secure a Congressional Gold Medal for America’s First Women Soldiers
Published: 23 April 2024
via the Women Veterans Alliance website
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Join the effort to secure a Congressional Gold Medal for America’s First Women Soldiers — the U.S. Army Women Telephone Operators (“Hello Girls”) of World War I! » Learn more.
To make this happen, we need the support of both the Senate and the House. We are close in the Senate, but we now need 290 Congressional Representatives to co-sponsor House Resolution (HR) 1572. (We have 96 as of 4/17/2024 – nearly a third of our goal!).
Contact Your Congress Person Today!
Who were the “Hello Girls”?
This term is a nickname for women who served as U.S. Army Signal Corps Telephone Operators during World War I (1917-1918). They were the first American female service members who served in support of combat operations – our first women soldiers sent to fight.
What was their impact?
In addition to helping win the war, these women paved the way for future generations of female service members. Furthermore, the service of women in World War I helped convince the nation that women deserved the right to vote, and directly led to the passage of the 19th Amendment granting them that right.
What exactly did they do?
These women were sent overseas to run telephone switchboards in support of military operations (radios were still new, and other forms of communication were slow and unreliable). They were often in direct contact with front-line troops, coordinating infantry attacks and artillery barrages.
Read the entire article on the Women Veterans Alliance website here:
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