Hello Girls Of WW1

Signal Corps Women

The history of the "Hello Girls" begins in late 1917, when General Pershing's appeal for bilingual telephone-switchboard operators was published in newspapers throughout the United States. It was called an "Emergency Appeal" and specifically requested that women, who held the position of switchboard operators exclusively in the new Bell Telephone Company, be sworn into the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Pershing wanted women to be sworn into the Army as an emergency need, because, he stated, women have the patience and perseverance to do long, arduous detailed work. He had found that the men in the Signal Corps had difficulty operating the switchboards for these reasons and he also wanted them to be in the field, constantly stringing the wire necessary for communication from the trenches to the A.E.F. GHQ at Chaumont. It was the first time in the history of warfare that soldiers in the front-lines were connected to the General command.
Signal Corps women of WW1

My grandmother Jeanne Catherine Legallet served in France for the Signal Corps as a telephone operator and translator (picture below).

Jeanne Catherin Legallet

Picture of Jeanne Catherine Legallet

The army did not recognize them as army personal until Congress passes a bill in 1979.
Brigadier General Vincent Russo gave my grandmother her discharge papers a victory medal.

Jeanne Catherine Legallet receives award

Here is the text on the back of the above picture, the original is not clear so I could not scan it.

Official U.S. Amy Photograph
W2DTAA-599-9
Brigadier General Vincent Russo presents a discharge certificate
and World War 1 victory medal to Mrs Jeanne C. Legalllet Stoner.
Mrs Stoner served as a telephone operator for General Pershing’s American Expeditionary forces in France
Photo by : J. Blanchette Date 13 Feb 80
Oakland Army Base Oakland CA.
Jeanne Catherine Legallet
US Army Signal Corps Telephone Operator

Victory Medal
Over view, face and back
Click image for large image.

Anyone with more information on the "Hello Girls" of WW1 or would like to add their personal links please contact me (Kevin E. West).

(this is not a link so I do not get junk mail.)

My family web page http://www.geocities.com/kevinewest/

I am looking for a official Army web site for the Signal Corps women. I have not found a list of women that were given this award from 1979. So if anyone can help also please contact me.

I live in California in the SF Bay Area, if you are local I can give you my phone number.

My Grandfather was Harold G Stoner a major architect in San Francisco in 1920 and later. He also designed many homes in Oakland and Marin County.

http://www.mtdavidson.org/balboa_terrace
http://www.outsidelands.org/100_Stonecrest.php

WW1 Signal Corps Women Links

If you do not like you link here please contact me and I will remove it.

Thanks for looking at this page.

http://www.gordon.army.mil/OCOS/Museum/hlogrl.asp

http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/signal.html

http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/femvets4.html

http://www.jung-soul.com/Hello-Girls.html

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/awards/witnesstowar/womenatwar.html

http://journals.aol.co.uk/lpoliticalanimal/-brave-women-/atom.xml

http://journals.aol.co.uk/lpoliticalanimal/-brave-women-/entries/2006/12/12/the-hello-girls-ww1-in-america/385