We salute the “Hello Girls.”
Communication, in this case telephone lines, were crucial to planning and coordinating military campaigns. In World War I, men of Army’s Signal Corps constructed telephone lines along the front, but proved lacking as operators. Professional telephone operators were needed to connect the calls between major entities of the Allied effort, working even on the “fighting lines.”
The Army turned to the professional women operators in the United States. Not only were these women expected to be experienced telephone operators, they also needed to speak both English and French since many of the American phone lines connected with the French lines.
These professional female operators became the first American women to serve in an official capacity in any sort of combat role in the U.S. military. The women’s bravery and excellence in the American Expeditionary Forces advanced the boundaries of women in the military and paved the way for increased participation in future conflicts.