Army Signal Corps Female Telephone Operator Uniform
notes: label: Description
content: U.S. Army Signal Corps Female Telephone Operator "Hello Girl" uniform, World War I. The uniform consists of a coat, skirt, and overseas cap, each made of navy blue wool. The coat has several patches and insignia, including the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) General Headquarters patch on left sleeve and the Chief Operator rank insignia on the right sleeve. There are two overseas service chevrons on the lower left sleeve, denoting 6 months of service each. On the left breast is the World War I Victory Ribbon with silver citation star. This uniform was worn by Helen Cook and donated by her through The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America.
label: Description
content: The Signal Corps Female Telephone Operators unit was formed in late 1917 following an urgent request from General Pershing. The AEF was in desperate need of bilingual switchboard operators to improve vital communications at the front. By the end of the war, over 400 women had been trained by the Army as "Hello Girls" and over 200 had served overseas, with many receiving Distinguished Service medals.
label: Description
content: Upon returning home after the war, "Hello Girls," unlike women who had served in the Navy, were denied veteran benefits as Army regulations at the time defined soldiers as male. It wasn't until over 60 years later, in 1979, that the Signal Corps Female Telephone Operators were finally given their veteran status and benefits.
topic: label: related event
content: World War I
setName: label: See more items in
content: Military and Society: Armed Forces History, Military
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content: Military
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content: Clothing & Accessories
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content: Women's World War I Uniforms
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1998.0165.35.01
label: accession number
content: 1998.0165
label: catalog number
content: 1998.0165.35.01
objectType: label: Object Name
content: coat
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wool (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 14 in x 19 in; 35.56 cm x 48.26 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall (padded, folded): 34 in x 22 in x 3 in; 86.36 cm x 55.88 cm x 7.62 cm