Sarah Angeline Cecelia Mary Fecteau, 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.

A First Unit operator recounts oath and uniforms, Hoboken embarkation on the Celtic, First Army switchboard work at Neufchâteau for St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne, and Paris Peace Conference duty—core evidence in the Hello Girls’ recognition case.

Maxwell names Grace Banker as Chief Operator and cites Brig. Gen. E. Russel’s Armistice-day commendation, aligning with multiple contemporary sources.

Telephone Operators of the AEF — Roll of Honor (1919)
Step into a 1919 homecoming: New England Telephone & Telegraph’s program honoring the U.S. Army Signal Corps operators who kept the AEF connected. Explore the period Roll of Honor, appreciation notes, the celebration schedule, and a contemporary tribute poem.

Source: Reprinted in the 1977 U.S. Senate hearing on recognition for VA benefits.

First Unit of Telephone Operators for Service in France. These 29 Young Women Have Command of the French and English Languages and Have Been Recruited from All Parts of the Country. They Constitute the First Group of 33 Telephone Operators to Be Sent to France. They Were Attached to the Signal Corps and Occupied a Unique Position in the American Military Organization. Photograph © Underwood & Underwood. 2 March 1918. The Young Women in This Group Include Chief Operator Grace D. Banker, of Passaic, NJ; Supervisor Jean Cunnungham, of Westmont, Quebec, PQ; Supervisor Elizabeth G. Hunter of Medford, MA; Supervisor Renee Messalin, of San Francisco CA.; Supervisor Minnie R. Richards, of Van Buren, ME; and Operators Melina J. Adams, Swansea, MA., Eulalie I. Audet, Jamaica Palin, MA., Jeanne Bochet, San Francisco, CA; Almeria Capistran, North Yakima, WA; Estelle I. Caron, Brockton, MA; Josephine Davis, New Orleans, LA; Cordelia Dupuis, Rolan, ND; Sarah Fecteau, West Lebanon, NH; Marie L. Ford, Worcester MA; Esther V. Fresnel, NYC; Marie A. Gagnon, Crafton, ND; Charlotte Gyss, Yonkers, NY; Winifred Hardy, Montreal, PQ; Leontine G. Lamoureux, Lowell, MA; Rose Langlier, Lynn MA; Marie A. Le Blanc, Montreal, PQ; Louise Le Breton, San Francisco, CA; Raymonde Le Breton, Berkeley, CA; Minerva G. Nadeaum Boston, MA; Helen A. Naismith, Seattle, WA; Francis B. Paine, Bronxville, NY; Bertha Plamonden, San Francisco, CA; Suzanne Prevot, NYC; Georgette Schaer, Omaha, NE; Agnes M. Theriault, Presque Isle, ME; F. J. Van Balkon, NYC; Alice Ward, Montreal, PQ; and Mrs. Clara Whitney, Butler, PA. National Archives and Records Administration, 165-WW-597B-6. NARA ID # 45567934. | GGA Image ID # 198b75f45a

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.