The Hello Girls - America's First Women Soldiers

I first heard about The Hello Girls - America's First Women Soldiers (#800) while listening to NPR, and requested our library system purchase a copy of Elizabeth Cobbs' non-fiction book.  During World War I when General Black Jack Pershing desperately needed experienced and skilled switchboard operators for his vital battlefield communications, he had the brilliant idea of recruiting the female telephone operators who were running the myriad of switchboards all over the United States.  What Pershing wanted for the War effort, Pershing got.

This book tells the story of how that thought became a reality against all odds, and of the brave women who volunteered to serve their country in uniform and overseas in combat conditions, winning the respect of those with whom they served, and whose very lives they held in their hands as they asked (bilingually in French and English!) "Number, please."  Time was of the essence in making these connections, and the Hello Girls were conspicuously faster and more efficient in making them happen than their male counterparts.

Since these daring women took an oath to serve in the Army Signal Corps, once Armistice was declared in November, 1918, many were retained overseas for further service.  The last Hello Girl would not be discharged until 1920.

For many, that is when their problems began, as the War Department refused to recognize their military status.  That meant they were denied the honors and medals, medical services, bonuses and military burials which were granted to other returning veterans.  Their fight for recognition as military personnel and official discharges would last almost a century.

Ms. Cobbs has placed the Hello Girls' story in the context of the times; the fight for woman suffrage and women's equality in general.  These issues are inextricably linked, and these female soldiers' story could not be adequately told without understanding the background and social issues of the times. Though many of these Signal Corps Girls could not yet vote during their term of service overseas, they and other female war workers helped pave the way for the changes to come that we now take for granted.

It's an amazing and eye-opening story of a brave, patriotic cadre of women who led the vanguard for the valued role of today's female service members.