The Hello Girls is a documentary film which premiered in 2018. In November 2023, it was shown on US television (PBS).
The history of the Hello Girls is connected with World War One (1914-1918). When this war began, the US was neutral. The US did not want to get involved in a European conflict.
Later, the US changed its position. In April 1917, the US declared war on Germany. The US joined the war on the side of the Entente and the US was in the war until the end in November 1918.
US military forces were transported to France to fight against the Germans. When General Pershing was in France, he needed to communicate with his regiments in different locations. He needed telephone operators to contact them and to tell them what to do.
He had male telephone operators, but he was not satisfied with them. They were too slow. In a war, time is often of the essence.
A slow operator may cause his army to lose a battle. A fast operator may make it possible for his army to win a battle.
In the beginning of the twentieth century, many American women were working as telephone operators.
It was one of very few occupations which were open to women who wanted to work or who had to work for a living.
The telephone companies preferred female operators, because they worked fast and they worked well.
In 1917, General Pershing told the US government to send some female telephone operators to France. The US government was prepared to help him.
There was a minor hurdle: at that time, women were not allowed to join the army. Women could not enlist. Only men could enlist. But since the situation was urgent, it was decided to ignore this detail.
When the job-offer was announced, more than 7,000 women responded. However, most of them were not qualified.
The candidate must have experience in the job and she must be able to speak French, since she is going to live and work in France for a while.
In the end, 223 women were accepted. They were given a military uniform and a brief training for the job. In 1918, they were transported to France.
At first, they worked in Paris. Later, they worked closer to the front. In some cases, they were even in the trench with the soldiers in order to make the telephone connection with headquarters possible.
Male operators were usually able to make a connection within 60 seconds, but female operators were faster.
They were usually able to make a connection within 10 seconds.
When the war was over, the Hello Girls had connected more than 26 million calls and the importance of their service was recognized by General Pershing.
The female telephone operators were placed in a special unit which was a part of the US Signal Corps. They made a significant contribution to the war effort.
When the operator answered a call, the first word she said was “Hello.” This is why these women became known as the Hello Girls.
The female telephone operators worked in France from 1918 until 1920. But when they returned to the US, they were told that they were not regarded as veterans. They were regarded as civilians.
The Hello Girls tried to explain their case:
(1) We were hired by the military
(2) We were transported to France and back to the US by the military
(3) We were wearing military uniforms
(4) We were paid by the military
How can you say we are not veterans?
The standard answer was: only men can enlist. Women are not allowed to enlist. You are civilians who worked for the military. End of story.
Why was it so important for them to recognized as veterans?
** The first answer = the principle
** The second answer = if you are a veteran who fought for your country, the government must offer you help and support, for instance health care when you need it and, if you live long enough, a pension.
The Hello Girls had to struggle for decades in order to be recognized as veterans. The campaign for recognition took almost 60 years.
The history of the Hello Girls is not well-known. But it is an interesting and important chapter of American history.
This film tells the story of the Hello Girls who worked for the US army during the time of WWI.
Here is some basic information about it:
** Writer and director: James W. Theres
** Producer: Elizabeth Cobbs
** Production: Lincoln Penny Films
** Language: English
** Subtitles: English
** Run time: 56 minutes
Several persons are interviewed in the film. Here are the names of the participants. Listed in alphabetical order.
** Michelle Christides – the younger daughter of a Hello Girl = Oleda Joure-Christides (1897-1984)
** Elizabeth Cobbs – a historian – author of a book about the Hello Girls – producer of this film
** Sheldon Hochheiser – PhD – AT & T corporate historian
** Mark Hough – an attorney who became a friend of a Hello Girl = Merle Egan Anderson (1888-1984)
** Anne MacDonald – Brigadier General (retired)
** Candy McCorkell – granddaughter of a Hello Girl = Melina Julia Adam Converse (1896-1967)
** Helen Richard – the older daughter of a Hello Girl = Oleda Joure-Christides (1897-1984)
** Cokie Roberts – author – journalist – daughter of Congresswoman Lindy Boggs (1916-2013)
** Jonathan Casey – Director of Archives, National WWI Museum and Memorial
** Denise Rohan – the American Legion
** Ellouise Schoettler – a storyteller – an author
** Carolyn Timbie – granddaughter of a Hello Girl = Grace Banker (1892-1960)
** Wilma Vaught – Brigadier General (retired)
** David Winkler – a historian – PhD – Naval Historical Foundation
** Mitchell Yockelson – author of a book about General Pershing and World War One
The following women come together to read a poem dedicated to the little telephone girl written by Frances A. Johnson:
** Parisa Fetherton
** Maria Macalino
** Juanita Mullen
** Sherika Stapp
More than two hundred American women served as Hello Girls during World War One.
In this film, the story of these women is told by focusing of four women whose lives and careers can be documented with a fair amount of details.
Here are the names:
Grace Banker (1892-1960)
Grace sailed to France in March 1918
Grace wrote a diary which has been preserved
Excerpts from the diary are quoted in the film
Grace was chosen to be the leader of the Hello Girls
When the war was over, she was awarded a medal, the Distinguished Service Medal, for her contribution to the American war effort
Melina Julia Adam Converse (1896-1967)
Melina sailed to France in March 1918
Her nickname is “Addie”
She married Jack Converse in France in 1919
Merle Egan Anderson (1888-1984)
Merle sailed to France in July 1918
Before and after WWII, she conducted a campaign for the Hello Girls to be recognised as veterans
Oleda Joure Christides (1897-1984)
Oleda sailed to France in September 1918
She was an accomplished piano player
Two Hello Girls died while they were overseas working for the US Army. Here are the names:
** Cora H. Bartlett (1886-1919) (buried in France)
** Inez Crittenden (1887-1918) (buried in France)
This film is divided into two parts:
Part 1
** The war years (1918-1920)
** Time = Around 30 minutes
Part 2
** The struggle for recognition (1920-1977)
** Time = Around 25 minutes
The campaign for recognition began in the 1920s and 1930s, but it was not successful. When WWII broke out, the issue was not regarded as important.
The campaign for recognition was resumed after the end of WWII. In the film, a letter written by Merle Egan Anderson in 1961 is quoted.
Merle appeals to a US Senator. She asks him to help the Hello Girls. The Senator replies like this:
(1) Since you are women, you do not qualify as veterans.
(2) I am sorry.
(3) I cannot help you.
The Senator fails to see the fundamental problem: the rules are wrong. The rules must be changed.
Merle contacted a young attorney who tried to help her case. This attorney Mark Hough is interviewed in the film. He explains that he tried to investigate the case.
Would it be possible to sue the US government and win recognition as veterans in a court of law?
He felt the chances were low.
Meanwhile, he learned about a similar case which was connected with World War II.
Female pilots had ferried military planes across the US during this war. Their unit was known as WASP.
Members of WASP worked for the military. They flew military planes. They were paid by the military.
But in 1944, their unit was disbanded and the female pilots were told that they were not veterans. They were regarded as civilians who had worked for the military.
Why? Because only men can enlist. Women are not allowed to enlist. End of story.
The members of WASP were not only disappointed; they were furious. They felt betrayed.
They knew they had made a significant contribution to the war effort, but once the war was over, they were told to disappear. It was as if they had never existed.
The Hello Girls were in a similar situation. They had worked for the military during WWI, but the government refused to recognize them as veterans, because they were women!
The members of WASP had worked for the military during WWII, but the military refused to recognize them as veterans, because they were women!
The two groups had the same problem, the same case,
and used the same arguments. They joined forces.
In the 1970s, the campaign for recognition gained support from two politicians who were active and efficient:
** In the Senate
Barry Goldwater
(1909-1998)
** In the House of Representatives
Lindy Biggs
(1916-2013)
In 1977, the campaign came to a successful conclusion when Congress passed a bill which was signed into law by President Carter. The law gave the Hello Girls and the members of WASP statues as veterans.
Sadly, most members of the Hello Girls and WASP did not live to see this moment. But a few of them were still alive when recognition finally happened.
What do reviewers say about this film?
On IMDb it has a rating of 84 percent, which corresponds to a rating of 4.2 stars on Amazon
On Amazon there are at the moment 40 ratings of this product; including 21 with reviews.
The average rating is 4.2 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 84 percent.
This film was reviewed by J. B. Spins on 14 October 2018.
While this review does not offer a specific rating, the general tone is positive. According to this review, this film is “highly recommended.”
I understand the positive reviews and I agree with them. The story of the Hello Girls is important. It deserves to be told, and in this film, it is done very well.
I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).
PS. James W. Theres is the director of several films, including The Six Triple Eight: No Mail, Low Morale (2019). In March 2024, it was shown on US television (PBS).
REFERENCES
# 1. Items available online
Janice Brown
“New Hampshire WWI Military: Yankee ‘Hello Girl’ Agnes Theresa (Houley) O’Brien of Groveton,”
New Hampshire’s History Blog
30 May 2017
Ellen Terrell
“The Hello Girls of World War I – Heeding the Call,”
Library of Congress Blogs
21 April 2021
Amy Hayes
“The Hello Girls of World War I,”
The Collector
14 May 2023
# 2. Books
American Women in World War I:
They Also Served
By Lettie Gavin
1997 = Hardcover
2006 = Paperback
Forty-Seven Days: How Pershing’s Warriors Came of Age to Defeat the German Army in World War I
By Mitchell Yockelson
(2016)
The Hello Girls:
America’s First Female Soldiers
By Elizabeth Cobbs
(2017)
Grace Banker and Her Hello Girls Answer the Call: The Heroic Story of WWI Telephone Operators
By Claudia Friddell
(2021)
[This slim volume is written for young readers]
Switchboard Soldiers: A Novel
By Jennifer Chiaverini
(2022 = Hardcover)
(2023 = Paperback)
[This fictional story is based on true events]
*****
The Hello Girls
A documentary film
which premiered in 2018
The incredible story of
America's first female soldiers
*****
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