In November, he urgently advised his War Department of the need for French-speaking American women to take over the telephone system so that Allied military operations could be effectively coordinated.īefore Pershing had boarded the ship that bore him to Europe, he stuffed its hold with the latest in communications technology. Recruited for their ability to speak French, many of the women were Louisiana Creoles or were the daughters or granddaughters of French-Canadian immigrants.
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He had, however, noted the efficiency and competence of Britain’s Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps as they expertly kept England-based phone lines humming.Ī full contingent of “Hello Girls” arrives in France in March 1918. Pershing, commander of American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, found this situation intolerable. phone operators were men who were poorly trained and tended to hang up when combat-stressed officers shouted at them over the lines.Īrmy Gen. In three years of combat, telephone lines were shot, shelled and bombed faster than they could be repaired.įurthermore, the French women operating telephone exchanges spoke no English and in general were very casual toward their duties, frequently forsaking their switchboards in order to go to canteens, shopping and to meet with boyfriends. The need ashore was even greater.Īs the first American forces began arriving in France that summer, they found the communications network in disarray.
declared war on Germany in 1917, the Navy had already opened its doors to women, assigning them ground jobs that freed up men for sea service.
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