Fountaindale Public Library

Switchboard soldiers, a novel, Jennifer Chiaverini

eng

Includes bibliographical references

no index present

fiction

Switchboard soldiers

bibliography

1262678297

Jennifer Chiaverini

a novel

In June 1917, General John Pershing arrived in France to establish American forces in Europe, but communications with Allied commanders and troops in the field were perilously unreliable. Pershing needed operators who could swiftly and accurately connect multiple calls, speak fluent French and English, remain steady under fire, and provide absolute secrecy when conveying classified military information. At the time, nearly all American telephone operators were women - but women were not permitted to enlist, or even to vote in most states. Nevertheless, the U.S. Army Signal Corps promptly began recruiting them. More than 7,600 women responded, including Grace Banker of New Jersey, a switchboard instructor with AT&T and an alumna of Barnard College; Marie Miossec, a Frenchwoman and aspiring opera singer; and Valerie DeSmedt, a Pacific Telephone operator from Los Angeles, determined to strike a blow for her native Belgium. They were among the first women sworn into the U.S. Army under the Articles of War. The male soldiers they had replaced had needed one minute to connect each call. The switchboard soldiers could do it in ten seconds. Deployed to supply depots, Pershing's headquarters, and exchanges near the front lines, the operators endured hardships and risked death or injury from gunfire, bombardments, and a deadly new influenza. Not all of them would survive. The valiant women of the U.S. Army Signal Corps served their country with honor and played an essential role in achieving the Allied victory. Their sacrifices cleared the way for generations of women who followed, not only in the military, but in all aspects of American life

adult