The Hello Girls: America’s First Women Soldiers - Elizabeth Cobbs Audiobook

Written by Elizabeth Cobbs
Read by Susan Erickson
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc.
Release date: June 27, 2017
Duration: 12:03:30

This is the story of how America’s first women soldiers helped win World War I, earned the vote, and fought the U.S. Army.

In 1918, the U.S. Army Signal Corps sent 223 women to France. They were masters of the latest technology: the telephone switchboard. General John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, demanded female “wire experts” when he discovered that inexperienced doughboys were unable to keep him connected with troops under fire.

Without communications for even an hour, the army would collapse. While suffragettes picketed the White House and President Woodrow Wilson struggled to persuade a segregationist Congress to give women of all races the vote, these competent and courageous young women swore the Army oath. Elizabeth Cobbs reveals the challenges they faced in a war zone where male soldiers welcomed, resented, wooed, mocked, saluted, and ultimately celebrated them.

The army discharged the last Hello Girls in 1920. When the operators sailed home, the army unexpectedly dismissed them without veterans’ benefits. They began a sixty-year battle that a handful of survivors carried to triumph in 1979. With the help of the National Organization for Women, Senator Barry Goldwater, and a crusading Seattle attorney, they triumphed over the U.S. Army.

AudioFile Magazine
Narrator Susan Ericksen is the perfect choice for this gem of overlooked history, which tells the story of America’s first female soldiers. Known informally as the “hello girls,” the 223 women of the United States Signal Corps were the backbone of the nascent telecommunications infrastructure for the American Expeditionary Forces during WWI. Ericksen gives a steady performance, including impeccable French pronunciation, allowing listeners to absorb the balanced blend of military, political, and personal history that squarely places the story of the Signal Corps in a broader social context. Because the narrative draws heavily from personal letters and diaries, Ericksen has ample opportunity to give a voice to a number of women, amplifying their individuality and unique role in American history.