223 Women of the U.S. Army Signal Corps Telephone Operators Who Served Overseas (1918–1919)

Editorial Note: This early roster of the 223 U.S. Army Signal Corps Telephone Operators—the “Hello Girls”—was originally compiled from 1918–1919 press and Signal Corps reports. For the verified archival roster, which now includes the 223 operators plus additional personnel from Unit 7 and later updates, see Roster and Hometowns of Telephone Operators Serving in France, 1918–1920 .

In particular, 223 American women came over from the States in six operating units. An army report says: “It is only fair to state that the good service rendered under nerve-racking conditions during the last strenuous months of the war when the big push was on was due in no small part to the reliability as operators and their untiring zeal and labor in the service.” And some of these “hello girls” got right up into the midst of it, too. A unit under Miss Grace Banker, as chief operator, handled the heavy telephone traffic of the First Army Headquarters during two critical operations—and handled it well.

📖 Review & Summary

Overview

This page documents the 223 women (and 2 men) of the U.S. Army Signal Corps telephone operators — the “Hello Girls” — who served overseas during WWI. It’s one of the most significant compilations in the GG Archives, bringing together unit rosters, photographs, and biographical details that illuminate the women’s identities, backgrounds, and contributions.

For teachers and students, this resource provides a complete cross-section of early female military service and its integration into the AEF.

For genealogists, it offers concrete names and hometowns for tracing ancestors. For veterans and families, it serves as recognition of long-overlooked service.

For military historians, it demonstrates the logistical backbone of communications during war.

The First Unit of Telephone Operators Trained for Foreign Service by the Bell System. Photograph Taken in France, Where They Have Won the Praise of Secretary of War Baker for Their Efficiency. Photograph © Committee on Public Information. The Telephone Review, June 1918. | GGA Image ID # 1982b87dda. Click to View a Larger Image.

Grace D. Banker, Chief Telephone Operator, US Army Signal Corps, March 1918. Colorized Version by GG Archives. | GGA Image ID # 19976e83d3. Click to View a Larger Image. || Click to View Original Image.

2. Grace Derby Banker, Chief Operator
   Passaic, New Jersey
3. Jean Lois Cunningham, Supervisor
   Westmount, Quebec, Canada
4. Elizabeth Gertrude Hunter, Supervisor
   Medford, Massachusetts
5. Renee Messelin, Supervisor
   San Francisco, California
6. Minnie Rowena Richards, Supervisor
   Van Buren, Maine
7. Melina Julia Adam
   Swansea, Massachusetts
8. Eulalie Ida Audet
   Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
9. Jeanne Bouchet
   San Francisco, California
10. Almeria Capistran
    North Yakima, Washington
11. Estella Ismery Caron
    Brockton, Massachusetts
12. Anna Josephine Davis
    New Orleans, Louisiana
13. Cordelia Elizabeth Dupuis
    Rolla, North Dakota
14. Sarah Angeline Cecelia Mary Fecteau
    West Lebanon, New Hampshire
15. Marie Louise Ford
    Worcester, Massachusetts
16. Esther Valentine Fresnel
    New York City, New York
17. Marie Antoinette Gagnon
    Grafton, North Dakota
18. Charlotte M. Gyss
    Yonkers, New York
19. Winifred Hardy
    Montreal, Quebec, Canada
20. Leontine Marine Lamoureux
    Lowell, Massachusetts
21. Rose Julia Langelier
    Lynn, Massachusetts
22. Marie Sophie Albertine Le Blanc
    Montreal, Quebec, Canada
23. Louise Le Breton
    San Francisco, California
24. Raymonde Le Breton
    Berkeley, California
25. Minerva Gladys Nadeau
    Boston, Massachusetts
26. Helen Agnes Naismith
    Seattle, Washington
27. Frances Bigelow Paine
    Bronxville, New York
28. Bertha Plamondon
    San Francisco, California
29. Suzanne Prevot
    New York City, New York
30. Georgette Yvonne Schaerr
    Omaha, Nebraska
31. Agnes Mary Theriault
    Presque Isle, Maine
32. Fernande Jacquelane Van Balkon
    New York City, New York
33. Alice Veronica Ward
    Montreal, Quebec, Canada
34. Clara Whitney
    Butler, Pennsylvania

Second Group of Telephone Operators Ready for France, to Serve with the American Expeditionary Forces. The Telephone Review, April 1918. | GGA Image ID # 1927e19cd4. Click to View a Larger Image.

1. Inez Crittenden, Chief Operator
2. Isabelle Villiers, Supervisor
3. Albertine M. Aarents
4. Margaret Anderson
5. Julie S. Barrere
6. Marguerite S. Bleyeres
7. Emma Marie Brousseau
8. Bertha A. Carrel
9. Martha L. Carrel
10. Edith Dodson
11. Louise M. Essirard
12. Anne C. Fox
13. Lydia C. Gelinas
14. Darnaby Henton
15. Martina A. Heynen
16. Denise Ingram
17. Anallen Jackson
18. Ethel S. Keyser
19. Florence F. Keyser
20. Anna Laborde
21. Marie Joanie Lemaire
22. Martha M. Libert
23. Marie A. N. MacIntyre
24. Millicent Martin
25. Pauline McDermott
26. Kathleen Mitchell
27. Helen Ruth Orb
28. Drucilla Skone Palmer
29. Laurence Helen Pechin
30. F. Helene Perreten
31. Marie Ponsolle
32. Katherine H. Robinson
33. M. [Melina] Olive Shaw

34. Marion A. Taylor
35. Evelyn Thomas
36. Marjorie Thomas
37. Hildegarde Van Brunt
38. Ethelyn White

Hildegarde Van Brunt, US Army Signal Corps Telephone Operator Serving in France, 1918. Van Brunt Family Photo Colorized by GG Archives.. | GGA Image ID # 19a7f7decd. Click to View a Larger Image. || Click to View Original Image

Third Unit of Telephone Operators to Go to France to Serve with General Pershing behind the Allied Lines and Help Carry on the Business of War. The Telephone Review, May 1918. | GGA Image ID # 19225056a1. Click to View a Larger Image.

1. Nellie F. Snow, Chief Operator
2. Marie L. Beraud, Supervisor
3. Elizabeth Rockwell Roby, Supervisor
4. Marie Blanche Belanger
5. Suzanne M. Beraud
6. Michele F. Blanc
7. Marie Louise Bousquet
8. Suzanne Coheleach
9. Lucile M de Jersey
10. Miriam de Jersey
11. Frances Des Jardine
12. Maria Flood
13. Yvonne M. Gauthier
14. Louisette H. Gavard
15. Blanche B. Grand-Maitre
16. Adele Louise Hoppock
17. Burtha Matignon Hunt
18. Margaret G. Hutchins
19. Janet R. Jones
20. Margaret Hope Kervin
21. A. Maude McMullen
22. Marguerite H. Milner
23. Eugenie Racicot
24. Dorothy L. Sage
25. Bertha J. Verkler
26. Lillian R. Verkler
27. Berthe Wuilleumier

Left Section of the Fourth Unit of Telephone Operators for General Pershing's Army, Trained by the Bell System and Ready for Overseas Service. Photographed on Roof of 195 Broadway, New York, June 13, 1918. They are (left to right): Top Row — Miss Kathleen M. Hyatt, Miss Albertine M. Belhumeur, Miss Evelyn C. La Riviere, Miss Alma H. Hawkins, Miss Mary Marshall, Miss Eugene J. Couture, Miss Emma Riendeau, Miss Lillie H. Noble, Miss Louise Maclin, Miss Vivienne Hamel, Miss Louise L. Armand, Middle Row — Miss Edmee LeRoux, Miss Melanie Van Gastel, Miss Aurelie C. Lucier, Miss Stella M. Viau, Miss Berthe Arlaud, Miss Helen E. Hill, Miss E. Tilleard, Miss Juliette Courtail, Miss Eleanor Hoppock, Mrs. Eileen Munro, Miss Beatrice Francfort, Front Row —Miss Lucienne Bigou, Miss Camille Rieder, Miss Agnes G. Burge, Miss Ruth Couturier, Miss Louise Chaix, Miss Mathilde Ferrie, Miss Leonie Peyron, Miss Georgette Boehrer, Miss Mary Story. The Telephone Review, July 1918. | GGA Image ID # 19283d8c2d. Click to View a Larger Image.

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Right Section of the Fourth Unit of Telephone Operators for General Pershing's Army, Trained by the Bell System and Ready for Overseas Service. Photographed on Roof of 195 Broadway, New York, June 13, 1918. They are (left to right): Top Row -- Miss Marguerite Martin, Miss Madeline Batta, Miss Mary C. O'Rourke, Miss Eglantine Moussu, Miss Marjorie L. McKillop, Miss Doris Summers, Miss Charlotte Anderson, Miss Germaine Lamontagne, Mrs, Eleanor A. Brown, Miss Marthe Carroul, Miss Lalla Munoz, Miss Marie Lange. Middle Row -- Miss Geneva M. Marsh, Miss Beatrice P. Bourneuf, Miss Mary E. Vannier, Miss Jane Lang, Mrs. Pauline McDonnell, Miss Jeanne Legallet, Miss Ellen M. Turner, Miss Louise Beraud, Miss Irma Armanet, Miss Alice Raymond, Miss Ruth Clarke. Front Row -- Miss Jennie R. Young, Miss Ida B. Lanz, Miss Alice J. Borreson, Miss Marie A. Lassalle, Miss Louise Ruffe, Miss Emelia Lumpert, Miss Ida Trahan, Miss Frances W. Laney, Miss Marguerite Chenot, Miss Celestine Leguia. The Telephone Review, July 1918. | GGA Image ID # 19285f95ad. Click to View a Larger Image.

1. Geneva Mildred Marsh, Chief Operator
2. Beatrice Pauline Bourneuf, Supervisor
3. Beatrice Josephine Francfort, Supervisor
4. Eleanor Rowena Hoppock, Supervisor
5. Eileen Elise Munro, Supervisor
6. Mary Jane Elizabeth Vannier, Supervisor
7. Charlotte E. Anderson
8. Berthe Lina Arlaud
9. Louise Ludavie Armand
10. Irma Rameline Armanet
11. Madeline Felicie Antoinette Catherine Batta
12. Albertine Anne Marie Belhumeur
13. Cora Louise Jane Beraud
14. Lucienne Nadine Bigou
15. Georgette Julia Boehrer
16. Alice Julia Borresen
17. Eleanore Anastasia Brown
18. Agnes Grace Burke
19. Marthe Mary Carroul
20. Louise Rose Madeleine Chaix
21. Marguerite Helen Chenot
22. Evelyn Mary Tilleard Cooper
23. Juliette Louise Courtial
24. Eugenie Jeannette Couture
25. Ruth Emma Couturier
26. Vivienne Blanche Marianne Hamel
27. Alma Helen Lorentzia Hawkins
28. Helen Elizabeth Hill
29. Kathleen Mary Hyatt
30. Germaine Marie Anne Lamontagne
31. Jane Louise Lang
32. Marie Alexandrine Lange
33. Ida Blanche Lanz
34. Evelyn Claire Lariviere
35. Marie Alexine Lassalle
36. Marie Edmee Le Roux
37. Jeanna Catherine Victoire Legallet
38. Celestine Angele Leguia
39. Aurelie Cecile Lucier
40. Emelia Katharine Lumpert
41. Louise Eugenie Maclin
42. Mary Marshall
43. Marguerite Marie Cecile Martin
44. Pauline Jeanne Francoise McDonnell
45. Marjorie Leslie McKillop

45. Eglantine Rose Moussu
46. Lalla Rookh Munoz
47. Lillie Marie Elizabeth Poirier Noble
48. Mary Catharine O'Rourke
49. Leonie Camille Peyron
50. Alice Raymond
51. Camille Fanny Rieder
52. Emma Riendeau
53. Marie Louise Catharine Ruffe
54. Doris Edith Summers
55. Ida Trahan
56. Ellen Mildred Turner
57. Melanie Marie Van Gastel
58. Stella Mary Viau
59. Jennie Rose Young

Fifth Unit of Telephone Operators for General Pershing's Army, from the Forces of the Bell System Photographed on Roof of 195 Broadway, New York, August 2. 1918. Left to Right. Front Row: Miss Mildred Lewis, Miss Zada F. Black, Miss Anita Chance, Miss Louise Barbour, Miss Anna Kinney, Miss Nell S. Wilkins, Miss Helen Cook, Miss Norma G. Finch, Miss Elizabeth M. Shovar, Miss Sarah Fairbrother, Miss Annie F. Sheerin, Miss Ruth Keeping, Miss Helen M. Hayes, Miss Christie V. Bickford. Back Row: Miss Elizabeth Macauley, Miss Agnes E. Blazina, Miss Ena Robb, Miss Louise M. Wilcox, Miss Faye R. Honey, Miss Martha M. Henshaw, Miss Merle Egan, Miss Laura Gridley, Miss Helen Carey, Miss Vera Sjostrom, Miss Jessie D. Brown, Miss Grace B. Knall, Miss Elizabeth O'Brien, Miss Mary E. Sealey, Miss Irene A. Gifford, Miss Marguerite Mahoney. The Telephone Review, September 1918. | GGA Image ID # 1928fddc68. Click to View a Larger Image.

1. 1LT Eugene Du Bose Hill
2. Helen Cook, Supervisor
3. Louise Barbour
4. Christine Vivian Bickford
5. Zada Freelove Black
6. Agnes Elizabeth Blazina
7. Jessie Douglas Brown
8. Helen Hunt Carey
9. Anita Lenora Chance
10. Merle Egan
11. Sarah Fairbrother
12. Norma Gail Finch
13. Irene Alice Gifford
14. Laura Gridley
15. Helen May Hayes
16. Martha May Henshaw
17. Faye Ruth Honey
18. Ruth Keeping
19. Anna Adline Kinney
20. Grace Bernice Knall
21. Mildred Lewis

22. Elizabeth Macauley
23. Marguerite Mahoney
24. Florence O'Brien
25. Ena Robb
26. Mary Ellen Sealey
27. Annie Frances Sheerin
28. Elizabeth Marion Shovar
29. Vera Sjostrom
30. Louise Margaret Wilcox
31. Nell Susan Wilkins

Sixth Unit Shares in Telephone Work in France Telephone Operators Doing Overseas Service in France “Plug In" for Victory. The Telephone Review, October 1918. | GGA Image ID # 1980c4cb71. Click to View a Larger Image.

1. 2LT William Frank Packard Jr.
2. Marion Campbell Swan, Supervisor
3. Cora Helen Bartlett
4. Helen Bixby
5. Ruth Boucher
6. Marion Beryl Broderick
7. Elizabeth Ann Browne
8. Anna Marie Campbell
9. Jane Elizabeth Conroy
10. Rosemary de Montauzan
11. Lora Ellen Disbrowe
12. Bernadette Genevieve Doucette
13. Lydia Eugenia Erickson
14. Mae Alice Ganley
15. Minnie Hermine Goldman
16. Louise Gordon
17. Selma Greenland
18. Celina Anna Grimeke
19. Delta Eva Hagan
20. Hazel May Hammond
21. Agnes Theresa Honley
22. Elizabeth Horsman
23. Maude Edna Johnson
24. Oleda Ruth Joure

25. Frances Willard Laney
26. Mabel Cora Lapp
27. Hortense Levy
    Daughter of the Vice-President of the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia

28. Mary Isabelle Macdonald
29. Abbie Elizabeth Mitchell
30. Margaret Genevieve Olker
31. Anne May Ostrander
32. Estella Syvilla Russell
33. Mary Anne Steele
34. Mary Caroline Story
    Daughter of Vice-Admiral W. A. Story of the British Navy
35. Anna Maria Swanson
36. Elsie Lizzie Wolloff

✨ Most Engaging Content

The named roster by unit: A rare primary source that details women by hometown, a genealogical treasure.

Grace D. Banker’s leadership: Chief Operator, later awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. Her image and biography add personal depth.

Unit photographs: Authentic Bell System training and deployment shots bring the archival material to life.

Direct quotes from Army reports: Provide credibility and show official acknowledgment of their critical wartime role.

🖼️ Noteworthy Images

1. 📸 The First Unit of Telephone Operators Trained for Foreign Service by the Bell System — shows early mobilization and military-civilian crossover.

2. 📸 Grace D. Banker, Chief Telephone Operator — essential portrait for students learning about decorated women in WWI.

3. 📸 Hildegarde Van Brunt, US Army Signal Corps Telephone Operator — personalizes the roster with family-submitted images.

4. 📸 Fourth and Fifth Units group photos — highlight the scale of recruitment and diversity of participants.

📘 Mini Dictionary for Civilians

Chief Operator: Lead supervisor of a telephone unit responsible for shift operations.

Distinguished Service Medal (DSM): A high military decoration awarded for exceptionally meritorious service.

Bell System: The American telephone system that provided many trained operators to the Army.

AEF (American Expeditionary Forces): The United States armed forces sent to Europe in WWI.

🎓 Essay Prompts for Students

1. Why was bilingualism (English/French) so important to the success of the Hello Girls in WWI?

2. How do rosters like this help genealogists and historians reconstruct forgotten histories?

3. Compare Grace Banker’s leadership role with that of male officers in the Signal Corps.

4. Why was it significant that these women only gained veteran recognition in 1977, decades after their service?

Encourage students to cite GG Archives as a primary source in their essays.

🪶 Citation Block

Chicago:  “223 Women of the U.S. Army Signal Corps Telephone Operators Who Served Overseas (1918–1919).” Gjenvick-Gjønvik Archives. https://www.ggarchives.com/MIL/HelloGirls/Docs/223SignalCorpsTelephoneOperatorsServedOverseas.html (accessed October 2025).

APA:  Gjenvick-Gjønvik Archives. (1918–1919). 223 Women of the U.S. Army Signal Corps Telephone Operators Who Served Overseas. Retrieved from https://www.ggarchives.com/MIL/HelloGirls/Docs/223SignalCorpsTelephoneOperatorsServedOverseas.html

MLA:  “223 Women of the U.S. Army Signal Corps Telephone Operators Who Served Overseas (1918–1919).” Gjenvick-Gjønvik Archives, https://www.ggarchives.com/MIL/HelloGirls/Docs/223SignalCorpsTelephoneOperatorsServedOverseas.html. Accessed Oct 2025.

Student Citation:  “223 Women of the U.S. Army Signal Corps Telephone Operators Who Served Overseas (1918–1919).” GG Archives. Available at: https://www.ggarchives.com/MIL/HelloGirls/Docs/223SignalCorpsTelephoneOperatorsServedOverseas.html

Reference: Who Were the “Hello Girls”?

The U.S. Army Signal Corps Telephone Operators of World War I — better known as the “Hello Girls” — defy easy classification. Even the National Archives has noted them as an “odd duck” in military history because their official status changed with time.

• They were recruited and trained by the U.S. Army Signal Corps.
• They wore Army uniforms, drilled, and lived under military rules and regulations.
• They were given titles and ranks (Operator, Supervisor, Chief Operator).
• They were deployed overseas with the American Expeditionary Forces in France.
• But technically, they were civilian contractors — a fact most only learned upon “discharge.”

This unusual status meant that the Hello Girls were not officially recognized as veterans until 1977, despite their essential contributions to wartime communications. Today, they are remembered as pioneers who bridged the gap between civilian expertise and military necessity.