Exhibits X & Y - Letters from Major Roy H. Coles to Adele L. Hoppock - 1921

[Exhibit X]: Affidavit of Gertrude Hoppock: Letter from Major Roy H. Coles to Adele L. Hoppock - June 17, 1921, in Recognition for Purposes of VA Benefits, Hearing before the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, United States Senate, Ninety-Fifth Congress, First Session on S. 247, S. 1414, S. 129, and Related Bills. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 25 May 1977. | GGA Image ID # 2378cb41fe. Click to View a Larger Image.

📖 Review & Summary

In 1921 Major Roy H. Coles, a former Chief Signal Officer under General Pershing, authored two letters that became pivotal in the Hello Girls’ decades-long struggle for veteran status. Addressed to Adele Hoppock and the Washington State Bonus Board, these letters asserted that female Signal Corps telephone operators had served “shoulder to shoulder with officers, enlisted men and nurses” under the same discipline and perils as any soldier in France.

Coles explicitly stated that although the Army could not formally commission women, the Hello Girls were subject to military orders and restrictions. His recognition of their sacrifice and courage helped establish the legal foundation for their eventual acknowledgment as veterans in 1977.

Educational Relevance: These letters illustrate how language and authority in official documents can shape policy and recognition for marginalized groups in military history.

Exhibit X

Headquarters 2d Corps Area,

Office of the Signal Offices,

New York City, June 17, 1921.

Miss Adele L. Hoppock,

My Dear Miss Hoppock: It has been recently brought to the attention of the undersigned by a former female telephone operator of American E.F., that the Bonus Board of her State was in some doubt as to whether residents of that State who were in the military service during the World War as female telephone operators were entitled to the benefits of this bonus.

A letter somewhat along the lines of the enclosed was sent to the operator in question. It is thought that perhaps you might desire to have a similar letter in connection with such bonus as your State may be providing, and I am enclosing one for such use as you may wish to make of it.

Very sincerely yours,
Adele Louise Hoppock
Seattle, Wash.

Roy H. Coles,
Major, Signal Corps.

[Exhibit Y]

Headquarters 2d Corps Area,

Office of the Signal Officer,

New York City, May 17, 1921.

State Bonus Board, State of Washington. Gentlemen : It has been recently brought to our attention that one of the State Military Service Bonus Boards has raised the question as to whether or not by virtue of service rendered, award of the State bonus should be made to former female telephone operators of the Signal Corps, who were on duty with the American Expeditionary Forces, and in case such question arises in the case of Miss Adele L. Hoppock, 1222 Summit Ave., Seattle, Wash., under- stood to be a resident of your State, I desire to invite your attention to the following :

New York City, May 17, 1921.

I served practically entirely during the war with the Signal Corps of the American E.F., first as Deputy Chief Signal Officer of those forces and during the final few weeks as Chief Signal Officer on General Pershing’s staff. Consequently I am in the very best position to know of the sacrifices and devotion to duty shown by these heroic young ladies, who gave up everything, placed themselves subject to the strictest kind of military discipline, braved the perils of the submarine infested seas and shared the hardships and privations which come to an army in a theatre of operation shoulder to shoulder with officers, enlisted men and nurses without murmur and without complaint.

These young ladies, while it was not practical to commission or enlist them because they were females, were nevertheless by their oaths and the rules and regulations for the conduct of armies in the field, as severely restricted and as completely required to endure and suffer as were any of their thirty-five thousand officer and enlisted men companions in the Signal Corps of the American E.F., or for that matter any Americans who served in Europe during the period of war.

Their orders with which they had no option but to comply, sent them in their soldiers’ uniforms to all parts of the theatre of operations of our Army, and the hardships, privations and dangers which they were called upon to endure were of as common occurrence as those in the case of the average officer and soldier, and I bespeak for those three hundred and fifty young ladies and for each of them, every consideration which individuals, bodies, states or the nation may see fit to give to any part of our armed forces during the recent war.

General Pershing and Brigadier-General Russel, the Chief Signal Officer of the American E.F. during all the period of the war, have already lavishly praised the loyalty, devotion to duty and spirit of self sacrifice with which the three hundred and fifty members of these female Telephone Operating Units were imbued, and I am certain that they would feel as keenly as do I any intimation that these ladies were other than a part of the American Expeditionary Forces in the fullest sense of the words and of the phrase.

Yours very truly,

Roy H. Coles,

Major, Signal Corps.

Exhibit Y: Affidavit of Gertrude Hoppock: Letter from Major Roy H. Coles to Adele L. Hoppock - June 17, 1921," in Recognition for Purposes of VA Benefits, Hearing before the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, United States Senate, Ninety-Fifth Congress, First Session on S. 247, S. 1414, S. 129, and Related Bills. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 25 May 1977. | GGA Image ID # 237936e06d. Click to View a Larger Image.

✨ Most Engaging Content

Major Coles’ eloquent praise for the Hello Girls as “heroic young ladies who gave up everything, placed themselves subject to the strictest kind of military discipline” provides the clearest first-hand validation of their soldierly status. His letter bridged the gap between wartime experience and postwar recognition — a rare example of a senior officer defending women in uniform during an era that often excluded them from credit and benefits.

🖼️ Noteworthy Image(s)

• Exhibit X Letter (June 17, 1921): A typed memo from Major Roy H. Coles to Adele Hoppock, encouraging her to submit proof of service for state bonus eligibility — acknowledging her as a member of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. | GGA Image ID # 2378cb41fe
• Exhibit Y Letter (May 17, 1921): Coles’ official correspondence to the Washington State Bonus Board, defining the Hello Girls as part of the American Expeditionary Forces “in the fullest sense of the words.” | GGA Image ID # 237936e06d

📘 Mini Dictionary for Civilians

• Signal Corps: The U.S. Army branch responsible for military communications — telegraph, telephone, and radio — during WWI and WWII.
• State Bonus Board: Post-WWI state-level committees that distributed monetary bonuses to veterans based on verified service records.
• American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F.): The U.S. armed forces deployed to Europe under General John J. Pershing from 1917 to 1919.
• Commission or Enlistment: Formal legal process of entering military service with defined rank and pay status — a right denied to the Hello Girls until their 1977 recognition.

🎓 Essay Prompts for Students

1. Analyze Major Roy H. Coles’ letters as early evidence of official recognition for women’s military service in the U.S. Army.
2. Discuss how language in Coles’ letters reflects the cultural barriers to women’s formal enlistment in 1921.
3. How did the Hello Girls’ experience with the Bonus Boards illustrate broader issues of gender and military bureaucracy after WWI?
4. Compare the tone of Coles’ letters with modern military acknowledgments of service — what has changed, and what remains the same?

🪶 Citation Block

Chicago: “[Exhibits X & Y] Letters from Major Roy H. Coles to Adele L. Hoppock and the State Bonus Board (1921).” Recognition for Purposes of VA Benefits, U.S. Senate Hearing, 95th Cong., 1st Sess. (1977), pp. 376-377.

APA: United States Senate. (1977, May 25). Exhibits X and Y – Letters from Major Roy H. Coles to Adele L. Hoppock (1921). Hearing Before the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (95th Congress, First Session), pp. 376-377. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

MLA: “[Exhibits X and Y]: Letters from Major Roy H. Coles to Adele L. Hoppock (1921).” Recognition for Purposes of VA Benefits, U.S. Senate Hearing, 95th Cong., 1st Sess., 1977, pp. 376-377.

Student Citation: “[Exhibits X & Y – Letters from Major Roy H. Coles (1921)]” in Recognition for Purposes of VA Benefits, U.S. Senate Hearing, 95th Congress (1977), pp. 376-377. Retrieved from the Gjenvick-Gjønvik Archives (ggarchives.com).

"[Exhibits X and Y]: Affidavit of Gertrude Hoppock: Letter from Major Roy H. Coles to Adele L. Hoppock - June 17, 1921," in Recognition for Purposes of VA Benefits, Hearing before the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, United States Senate, Ninety-Fifth Congress, First Session on S. 247, S. 1414, S. 129, and Related Bills. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 25 May 1977. p. 376-377.