Julie S. Barrere, Operator

Application for Membership in the Signal Corps Telephone Unit (1918)

How the Army recruited and screened bilingual operators for service in France. Features Exhibit B with Adele L. Hoppock’s questionnaire—language attestations, medical fitness, instruction pledge, and wartime commitment.

223 Women of the U.S. Army Signal Corps Telephone Operators Overseas (1918–1919)
Explore the earliest compiled roster of 223 “Hello Girls,” the U.S. Army Signal Corps telephone operators who served overseas during World War I. Based on 1918–1919 press and Signal Corps reports, this list reflects the original wartime recognition of these women’s service and leadership.

Includes names, operating units, and select period photographs—an invaluable snapshot of how the women of the Signal Corps were viewed during the war itself.

Roster and Hometowns of the WWI “Hello Girls” – U.S. Army Signal Corps Telephone Operators (1918–1920)
Explore the complete roster of 223 women and two men who served as U.S. Army Signal Corps telephone operators during World War I. Organized by unit and hometown, this list reveals the national and international scope of the bilingual operators who kept the American Expeditionary Forces connected across France.

This roster serves as a cornerstone for genealogists, educators, and historians researching the pioneering women who made military communications possible.

Exhibit H — Pershing’s Commendation of Signal Corps Operators (1918)

Dated 20 November 1918, this concise commendation credits “the officers and men and the young women of the Signal Corps” for wartime communications—an A.E.F.-level nod that explicitly includes the Hello Girls.

Memento of the Telephone Operating Units – Signal Corps (1918)
Explore the rare commemorative booklet presented to the U.S. Army’s “Hello Girls” at Christmas 1918 in France—filled with officer commendations, photographs, and personal keepsakes.

This artifact offers a tangible link between the women’s frontline service and their later fight for veteran recognition.

Affidavit of M. Olive Shaw (1977)

Unit 2 operator describes dual Army oaths, regulation uniforms/insignia, orders to Hoboken (Mar 1918), war risk insurance, and service at St. Nazaire, Brest, and Tours—a concise primary source on women’s military status in the AEF.

This affidavit is a compact primary source for the “military status” question—citing orders, insurance, command, discipline, and insignia—core to later recognition efforts.

Volunteer Group 2 Who Are in Training to Operate the American Telephone System in France for the Army under General Pershing. Left to right—Lower row: Miss Catherine H. Robinson, Miss F. Helene Perreten, Miss Marthe Gay. Miss Edme Le Roux. Upper row: Miss Frances Des Jardins, Miss Julie Barere, Mrs. Pauline McDermott, Miss Suzanne Cohleach, Miss Darnaby Henton, Miss Marion A. Taylor, Miss Anne C. Fox. The Telephone Review, March 1918. | GGA Image ID # 192044dc2f. Click to View a Larger Image.

Operators Trained by the New York Telephone Company, Ready to Join the First Group Now Serving in France. Top row: Miss Edith Dodson, Miss Darnaby Henton, Miss Suzanne Coheleach, Miss Marguerit Bleyeres, Miss Ethelyn White, Mrs. Pauline McDermott. Middle row: Miss Louise Essirard, Miss Marthe Libert, Miss Frances Perreton, Miss Julie S. Barrcre, Miss Marion S. Taylor, Mrs. Denise Ingram. Bottom row: Miss Margaret Anderson, Miss Anne C. Fox, Mrs. Marie A. M. Mclntyre, Miss Katherine Hay Robinson. The Telephone Review, April 1918. | GGA Image ID # 19223a7519

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.