Base Section #1: St. Nazaire, France Photos

Finding Aid for the “Hello Girls” — Female Telephone Operators of the US Army Signal Corps, World War I

Books & Recommended Reading

• Grace Banker and Her Hello Girls Answer the Call: The Heroic Story of WWI Telephone Operators - 2021
• Switchboard Soldiers 2022
• The Hello Girls: America's First Women Soldiers - 2017

Introduction & Context

• Birth of the AEF Signal Corps Girls - 1918
• Telephone Operators Creation Within Signal Corps - 1917
• General Squier in Charge of Aviation and Signal Corps - 1918
• Hello Girls of World War I
• How the Signal Corps Organized 100 Girls - 1918
• Information Relative to Telephone Operators for Duty in France - 1918
• Women's Telephone Unit in France - 1918
• Woman Telephone Operators in France - 1920
• Young Women of America, Attention! - 1918
• Young Women Train for Telephone Service in France - 1918
• Telephone Operators Join Our Army - 1918

Signal Corps Telephone Operator Units (WWI)

• First Unit of Telephone Operators Ready for France - 1918
• Second Unit of Telephone Operators Ready for France - 1918
• Third Unit of Telephone Operators Arrive in France - 1918
• Fourth Unit of Telephone Operators Arrive In France - 1918
• Fifth Unit of Telephone Operators Arrive in France - 1918
• Sixth Unit of American Telephone Operators Has Arrived in France - 1918
• Seventh Unit of Telephone Operators Demobilizes - 1919
• First American Telephone Girls in France - 1918
• First Washington Girl Arrives in French Territory - 1918
• Long Distance Operators Off for France - 1918
• More Operators for France - 1918
• The Signal Corps in Germany’s Oldest City - 1919
• Six American Telephone Operators Near the Front - 1918
• U. S. Signal Corps Unit at Headquarters - 1918

Daily Work & Operations

• American Telephone Operators Aid Victory - 1918
• Brave Girl Soldiers of the Switchboard - 1918
• Company of Switchboard Soldiers See Service in France - 1918
• For the Wire Men and Girls in France - 1918
• "Hello-Girls" Are Going "Over There" To Help Link Up the Army's Nerve-Fibers - 1918
• How the Signal Corps Girls Stayed on the Job - 1919
• How the Telephone Girls Performed in France - 1919
• Life of Our Telephone Operators in France - 1919
• Signal Corps Girls Brave Dangers - 1919
• Signal Corps Girls Have Jolly Times - 1918
• Number Please, AEF - Telephone Operators in France - 1921
• Signal Corps Telephone Operator Girls Did It - 1918
• Telephone Girls “At Home” in France - 1918
• Telephone Girls in the Heart of a Military Camp - 1918
• The Telephone Girls of Meuse-Argonne - 1921
• The Telephone Girls of St. Mihiel - 1921
• The Telephone Girls of the Peace Conference - 1921
• Telephone Girls to "Hold the Lines" in France - 1918
• A Telephone Operator's Experiences with the Signal Corps - 1918

Personal Stories & Voices

• Adele Hoppock and En Route to France - 1918
• The Adventures of Miss Elizabeth Horsman and Miss Helen Carey - 1918
• The Christmas Party at Camp Upton - 1919
• Miss Helen Carey, Telephone Operator Off for France - 1918
• I Was a "Hello Girl" - 1977
• Impressions of the A. E. F. by Signal Corps Operator O'Rourke - 1919
• A Letter from a Fifth Unit Telephone Operator - 1918
• Letter from Adele Hoppock Mills to Senator Vandenburg - 1935
• Letter from "Hello Girl" Miss Adele Hoppock - 1918
• Letter from Major Coles to Washington State Bonus Board - 1921
• Letter Home from Signal Corps Telephone Operator in France - 1918
• Military Funeral of Telephone Operator Cora Bartlett - 1919
• Miss Banker Wins the D. S. M. For Bravery - 1919
• The Experience of Isabelle Villiers, Yeoman (f) Turned Hello Girl Supervisor - 2015
• Tribute to US Army Signal Corps Chief Telephone Operator Inez Crittenden 1887-1918
• With an American Telephone Girl in France - 1919
• Exhibit C - Gertrude Hoppock - Memo from Capt. E. J. Wesson, US Army - 1918
• Exhibit D - Hoppock - Memo from Capt. E. J. Wesson, US Army - 1918
• Exhibit E—Telegram - Miss Adele Louis Hoppock from Squire - 1918
• Exhibit F—Telegram to Adele Louise Hoppock from Squier - 1918

Press, Public Perception & Cultural Impact

• Good Bye U of W, Hello France
• Berlin Girl to Go as Phone Operator - 1918
• Baker Congratulates Telephone Operators - 1918
• Hello—Over There! - Our Telephone Girls Take On Paris - 1918
• War Hello Girls Talking - We Win! -1918
• American Telephone Girls Well Cared for in France - 1918
• What New England Hello Girls Are Doing "Over There" - 1918
• Three More Michigan Girls For "Over There" - 1918
• Bay Area Girls at Front During Great Drives - 1918
• YWCA Dances Relieve Stress For Signal Corps Girls - 1918
• Chicago Telephone Girls Heroines "Over There" - 1918
• Phone Girls Living High - 1918
• The Signal Corps Girls "Made Good" - 1919
• Tribute to American Telephone Operators in France - 1919
• American "Hello Girls" in France Enjoy High Life - 1919
• Blue Triangle Follows the Switchboard - 1919
• Peace Secrets Elude Miss Maria Flood - 1919
• Four of The Michigan Telephone Company's "Returned Soldiers" - 1919
• "Hello" Heroines - Telephone Operators of the Great War Era - 1920

Recognition, Legal Status & Legacy

• Black Jack's Girls - 1982
• Brief History of the Signal Corps Female Telephone Operators - 1996
• Congressman Cleaver Introduces Bill to Award Congressional Gold Medal to the 'Hello Girls' of WWI
• HR 1953-Hello Girls Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2019
• Recognition of the "Hello Girls" for VA Benefits - 1977
• Section 401(a) of Title IV of the G.I. Bill Improvement Act of 1977
• Senate passes Hello Girls Congressional Gold Medal Act - 2024
• Switchboard Soldiers of the Great War

Documents & Reference Materials

• 223 Women of the Signal Corps Telephone Operators that Served Overseas
• 85 German-Speaking Telephone Operators Required For Completing Work by A.E.F.
• AEF Telephone Operators of the AEF -- Roll of Honor - 1919
• Judge Advocate General Decides Women Telephone Operators are Civilian Clerks - 1918
• Memento of the Telephone Operating Units Signal Corps (1918)
• Pershing Eliminates French Speaking Operators Requirement, 6 June 1918
• Pershing Requests Women Telephone Operators - 1917
• Roster and Hometown of Telephone Operators Serving in France, 1918-1920
• Signal Corps Telephone Unit Application - 1918
• Telephone Operators Denied War Risk Insurance -1918

• Affidavit of Alma H. Hawkins - 1977
• Affidavit of Edward Mervin Stannard - 1953
• Affidavit of Enid M. Pooley - 1977
• Affidavit of Gertrude Hoppock - 1977
• Affidavit of Helen Bixby Moore - 1977
• Affidavit of Louise Le Breton Maxwell - 1977
• Affidavit of Marjorie L. McKillop - 1977
• Affidavit of Merle Egan Anderson - 1977
• Affidavit of M. Olive Shaw - 1977
• Affidavit of Oleda Joure Christides - 1977

• Exhibit H - Commendation of Signal Corps Operators from Pershing - 1918
• Exhibit J - Extract from Army Commander’s Report of First Army Operations - 1919
• Exhibit K - Extract from Special Orders No. 2241 (Victory Medal) - 1919
• Exhibit L - Extract from Special Orders No. 231 (Demobilization Phase) - 1919
• Exhibit M - Termination of Services - Adele Louis Hoppock - 1919
• Exhibit U - American Legion Membership Card for Adele Louise (Hoppock) Mills - 1920
• Exhibit V - Signal Corps Veterans Association Membership Card - 1919

Media

• Hello Girls Videos – US Army Signal Corps Telephone Operators in WWI
• WW1 Photos: The "Hello Girls" Signal Corps Telephone Operators
• Photo Plates - Signal Corps Telephone Operating Unit - 1919
• Base Section #1: St. Nazaire, France Photos

Primary Military Collections

• Hello Girls
• The Draft
• Transport Ships
• US Air Force
• US Army
• US Coast Guard
• US Marine Corps
• US Navy
• World War 1
• World War 2