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Posted on 11/19/2004 11:55:09 PM PST by snippy_about_it
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
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 by Michelle Christides 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 perseverence 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.  Standing Inspection for General Pershing These women were to be subject to all Army regulations, including Court-Martial, as well as another ten rules designed to assure their moral character. Married women were accepted, if not married to anyone serving overseas -- they were there to work. For this reason it was expected they be twenty-five years old. There were, however, few among the 700 volunteers throughout Bell Telephone, who spoke French. In selecting the first 300, the age requirement and even the switchboard training was waived, for two sisters, Louise and Raymonde LeBreton, who had moved from France to the United States, when their widowed mother had married an American. They were 18 and 20. From Marine City, Michigan, a 19-year-old American of French-Canadian origin named Oleda Joure also volunteered. She had been trained by Bell Telephone to train women to operate switchboards, when she had become, at 16, what was at that time a rare High-School graduate.     Oleda at the time of the war Oleda had played piano for dance-bands throughout the Thumb District of Michigan, for six years, since the age of thirteen, and she knew all the World War One popular music. While sailing "Over There" on the S.S. Olympic, which had been placed in quarantine at Southampton, England for two weeks because of the Spanish Influenza pandemic, she entertained the troops. When she was asked by the Red Cross official to accept a position touring camps and hospitals to entertain, she replied that she was in the Army under orders for the duration of the War. She was assigned to General Pershing's American Expeditionary Force Headquarters in Chaumont, France. Her service extended a year after the Armistice in order to operate the telephones for the arrangements to return the troops home; there was no question but that she was there under orders for the duration. Oleda, and all the U.S. Army Signal Corps operators, stood inspection in the soldiers' ranks, for General Pershing's visiting dignitaries. She remembered President Wilson, Marechal Foch and the Prince of Wales. During one leave, which was given on pass exactly the same way as to any soldier, Oleda travelled to Bordeaux to meet her brother Wallace who was a member of the Army's Barber Shop quartet which travelled through France entertaining the troops.  Oleda visiting Wallace in Bordeaux, France Also shown are the hosting family, another member of the barber shop quartet and a French Soldier. [Oleda is seated in the front row next to her brother Wallace on the left of the photo. Louise Gordon, Signal Corps supervising operator, is standing in the rear. When she returned to civilian life, Oleda Joure continued her dual-career as a training supervisor for Bell Telephone in Michigan and professional piano-player with dance bands, until 1933, when she married Athanasius A. Christides. Her tie to France was renewed when Chris was sent to Paris, in the 1950s for 8 years as U. S. Treasury Representative to the new Common Market and Interpol. When the couple visited the cafes in St. Germain des Pres, French neighbors often requested that Oleda play the old WWI songs, that had united the Allies in spirit for the long, hard battles of 1918.  Returning to Michigan. Wallace is on this train stopped in Sturgis, Michigan enroute to Camp Custer. Oleda would follow the same path at the end of 1919. However, when the Hello Girls had returned to the United States and applied for their honorable discharges, they were told they could not have been sworn into the Army, because U.S. Army regulations stated that "males" were sworn in, and said nothing about "persons," as the U.S. Navy regulations had. "Yeomanettes" who served in the United States during WWI, were therefore considered veterans, but not the U.S. Army Signal Corps women, who had served Over There. From 1930 to 1978, the "Hello Girls," led by Merle Egan-Anderson of Helena, Montana, introduced bills into Congress, which had actually given Citations for Bravery to ten of the women who had operated the switchboards behind the front-lines during the battle of St. Mihiel. The building they were in had caught fire from the bombardment and they had been ordered to leave the switchboards. They believed the order for their safety to have been in consideration of their sex and so continued to operate until the fire was so threatening that GHQ also threatened Court Martial if they did not leave their posts. They were back in an hour after the fire was put out.  Merle Egan Anderson, sitting at the Supervisor's desk at the Paris Peace Conference in the Hotel Crillon. She led the fight from 1930 - 1978 for recognition of the Hello Girls' veteran-status. When Seattle lawyer, Mark Hough, volunteered his services to Merle Anderson, in 1976, and Oleda's daughter, Michelle Christides, then Assistant Professor of Western Civilization at California State University, Sonoma, Hutchins School of Liberal Studies, researched the historical information on the Hello Girls' contribution to victory, they received help from several Congresspeople, who introduced the bill that gave them recognition of their status, on the 60th anniversary of the Armistice, as the first women veterans of the U. S. Army.  Oleda receiving a certificate of recognition from Brig. General Arthur Wolfe as Chris looks on proudly. For the seventy women still alive, there was nation-wide coverage in the newspapers, but their story has still not been told in the history books. Each remaining "Hello Girl" was visited by a General of the U.S. Army and handed her Honorable Discharge in a ceremony at her home.      |
Late nite shift "Hello" Bump for the Freeper Foxhole.
WWI planes when I get home
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
To all our military men and women past and present, military family members, and to our allies who stand beside us
Thank You!
Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.
Good morning, Snippy. A very interesting article. I have never heard of "Hello Girls". I'm sharing this with women friends.
Alice
Good morning! or... Hello!
The evolution of women and our contribution to the military is no less than amazing to me. There are so many things that we take for granted today, that other women had to fight for yesterday.
Bless these ladies, they were heroes, each and every one of them!
Of course a big lift of the alfa6 lid to the folks who made posting these pic possible. Y'll know the routine :-)
First up a Sopwith Camel, alas no Snoopy though.
Next a Fokker DVII...
How about a SPAD XIII IIRC, Capt Eddie Rickenbacker flew SPADs IIRC
A Fokker Triplane is next up and no this is not a replica of the Red Baron's craft, darn it!
And finally a Sopwith Triplane to end our little WWI aeroplane adventure.
That's it for now as I need to log some blanket drill after a fun filled 12 hours of fun and frivolity last night.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
On This Day In History
Birthdates which occurred on November 20:
1602 Otto von Guericke inventor (air pump)
1620 Peregrine White son of William & Susanna White, born aboard Mayflower
1726 Oliver Wolcott (Ct-Gov), signed Declaration of Independence
1761 Pius VIII 253rd Roman Catholic pope (1829-30)
1830 Patrick Henry Jones Brig General (Union volunteers), died in 1900
1836 John Thomas Croxton Bvt Mjr General (Union volunteers), died in 1874
1841 Sir Wilfrid Laurier (L) 7th Canadian PM (1896-1911)
1866 Kenesaw Mountain Landis judge/1st commissioner of baseball
1869 Clark Griffith Missouri, baseball player/manager (NY Yankees)
1884 Norman Thomas Marion Ohio, socialist (presidential candidate 1928-48)
1886 Karl von Frisch zoologist/bee expert (Nobel 1973)
1889 Edwin Hubble astronomer (discoverer of galaxies, red shift)
1891 Leon Cadore pitcher (pitched all of 26 inning game)
1900 Chester Gould cartoonist (gave Dick Tracy a job)
1907 Fran Allison LaPorte City Iowa, actress (Kukla, Fran & Ollie)
1908 Alistair Cooke Manchester England, actor (Masterpiece Theatre, Letters from America)
1911 Jean Shiley US, high jumper (Olympic-gold-1932)
1914 Emilio Pucci Naples, fashion designer (Neiman-Marcus Award-1954)
1915 Kon Ichikawa Japan, director (Matatabi, Money Talks)
1916 Robert A Bruce MD, pioneer (exercise cardiology)
1917 Robert Byrd (D-Sen-WV)
1918 Dora Ratjen Germany, man posing as woman high jumper (Oly-4th-1936)
1919 Evelyn Keyes actress (Adventure of Martin Eden)
1920 Douglas Dick Charlestown WV, actor (Carl-Waterfront)
1920 Gene Tierney Brooklyn, actress (Laura, Razor's Edge, Ghost & Mrs Muir)
1923 Nadine Gordimer South Africa, actress/writer (Lying Days)
1924 Benoit Mandelbrot Warsaw Poland, mathematician (proved Zipf's law)
1925 Maya Plisetkaya prima ballerina (Bolshoi Ballet)
1925 Robert Francis Kennedy Brookline MA (D-Sen-NY) AG; assassinated
1926 Kaye Ballard Cleveland Ohio, actress/comedienne (Kaye-Mothers-in-Law)
1927 Estelle Parsons Lynn MA, actress (Rachel Rachel, Bonnie & Clyde)
1928 Franklin Cover Cleveland, actor (Tom-The Jeffersons)
1929 Dick Clark Mt Vernon NY, TV host (American Bandstand)
1929 Kenneth DeWitt Schermerhorn Schenectady NY, conductor (American Ballet)
1932 Richard Dawson Hampshire England, actor (Hogan's Heroes, Family Feud)
1934 Valentine J Peter Omaha NB, priest (Boy's Town 1985- )
1937 Eero Muntyranta Finland, nordic ski relay (Olympic-gold-1960)
1937 Jack Linkletter San Francisco CA, TV host (Haggis Baggis, Hootenanny)
1939 Dick Smothers NYC, comedian (Smother Brothers' Show)
1940 Bob Einstein Los Angeles CA, comedian (Officer Judy, Super Dave Osborne)
1941 Gary Karr Los Angeles CA, double-bassist (Oslo Philharmonic)
1942 Joseph R Biden Jr (D-Sen-Del)
1942 Norman Greenbaum Massachusetts, folk singer (Spirit in the Sky)
1943 Veronica Hamel Philadelphia PA, actress (Joyce-Hill St Blues)
1946 Duane Allman rocker (Allman Brothers-Jessica, Ramblin' Man)
1946 Judy Woodruff newscaster (McNeil Lehrer Report)
1947 Joe Walsh Wichita KS, guitarist/rocker (Eagles-Take it Easy)
1948 Richard Masur NYC, actor (David-One Day at a Time)
1948 Samuel E Wright Camden SC, actor (Enos, Ball Four)
1949 Juha Mieto Finland, 15KM skier (Olympic-silver-1980)
1954 Steve Dahl California, Chicago's anti-disco DJ (WLS-FM)
1956 Bo Derek Long Beach Cal, actress (10, Tarzan the Ape Man)
1956 Mark Gastineau NFL end (NY Jets, Pro Bowl 1981-85)
1959 Sean Young Louisville KY, actress (Dune, Young Doctor in Love)
1974 Marisa Ryan actress (Major Dad)
Hey PE how is the stock of F-O-Gs coming along? and did you get the "cornfield" commercial?
Back later, I hope
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
free dixie,sw
btw, has the foxhole ever profiled the WW1 USN Yeomanettes????
free dixie,sw
Read: Acts 1:1-8
Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. —Mark 16:15
Bible In One Year: Ezekiel 14-15; James 2
Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962), the world-famous violinist, earned a fortune with his concerts and compositions, but he generously gave most of it away. So, when he discovered an exquisite violin on one of his trips, he lacked the money to buy it.
Later, having raised enough money to meet the asking price, he returned to the seller, hoping to purchase that beautiful instrument. But to his great dismay it had been sold to a collector. Kreisler made his way to the new owner's home and offered to buy the violin. The collector said it had become his prized possession and he would not sell it.
Disappointed, Kreisler was about to leave when he had an idea. "Could I play the instrument once more before it is consigned to silence?" he asked. Permission was granted, and the great virtuoso filled the room with such heart-moving music that the collector's emotions were deeply stirred. "I have no right to keep that to myself," he exclaimed. "It's yours, Mr. Kreisler. Take it into the world, and let people hear it."
To sinners saved by grace, the gospel is like the rapturous harmonies of heaven. We have no right to keep it to ourselves. Jesus tells us to take it into our world and let people hear it. —Vernon Grounds
And of course...
General Francisco Franco is STILL dead!
;-)
Hey, hey sw!!!!!!
I don't know, but sure we'll ask snippy.
duckie home yet???
HUGS to sw and duckie!!!
free dixie!! bf
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