Ken Beaton: ‘Number please’

What the heck is a “Hello Girl?” She was an educated woman, fluent in English and French who served her country as a telephone operator in war-torn France during World War I.

The commanding officer of the WWI U.S. European Expeditionary Force in France was Gen. John J. “Black Jack” Pershing. He was confronted with a serious communications problem. Accurate and dependable communications are vital to all military operations and preventing “friendly fire” casualties. Since American soldiers under Pershing’s command were fighting in France, there was a language problem.

Ken Beaton

At first American men and French women were employed in telephone exchanges. That was a total failure. Pershing decided to request American females who were bilingual in French and English apply to become “Hello Girls.”

Two hundred thirty-three bilingual American females were hired from the 10,000 who applied. They agreed to serve for the duration of the war and were issued dark “Hello Girls” uniforms. After being transported 3,000 miles across the German U-boat infested waters of the stormy and frigid North Atlantic, they were transported to various communities in France.

By the way, the “Hello Girls” worked long hours and were often under combat conditions. They worked for the first, second, and third Army headquarters and were paid at least half to one fourth the wage a male was paid for doing the same job!

A reasonably prudent person would think that after being trained in daily military drill, taught about the Army and its military terms and traditions, wearing a military uniform, assigned ranks, subject to inspections and being much more effective than the male operators, the “Hello Girls” would have received the same benefits as the dough boys who served our country. WRONG!

The problem was while the U.S. Navy had opened enlistment to women during WWI, the U.S. Army didn’t. In their wisdom, the Army’s lawyers had determined that the “Hello Girls” were not eligible for war risk insurance because they were civilian employees.

The House passed a bill for the “Hello Girls” to be included with the Army in the American overseas forces. But the U.S. Senate deleted the provision. Remember, lawyers and the U.S. senators have the gift to cause a traffic jam for a one-car funeral!

The Army recruited the “Hello Girls” as “enlisted for the duration of the war.” They were referred to as “young women soldiers.” The “Hello Girls” had to purchase their uniforms costing between $250 to $350 like officers when the “Hello Girls’ monthly pay was $60! There are two Army expressions for what the girls experienced: FUBAR and SNAFU!

Finally on Nov. 23, 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed the 1977 G.I. Improvement Bill which allowed the “Hello Girls” and the Women Airforce Service Pilots, WASPs, from WWII the recognition from their government for their service. Of the 233 “Hello Girls” in 1918, only 18 were still vertical in 1977. The “Hello Girls” had to wait 60 years for their recognition and VA benefits.

Read the entire article on the Nevada Appeal website.
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.