Grace (Banker) Paddock was born in New Jersey in 1892. Prior to World War I, she was a switchboard instructor for AT&T. When America entered the war, it became obvious that the French switchboard operators were not up to the task of supplying the communications necessary to fight the German army. The French operators were slow, careless, rude, and lacked the diligence necessary to provide the necessary communications, even though it was their own homeland that American soldiers were trying to defend.
Grace was recruited to lead 33 telephone switchboard operators to France to replace the French operators and the American male soldier operators who were assigned switchboard duty. The operators chosen were volunteers, but they were required to speak English and French fluently.
When Grace and others had completed their training, they swore military oaths as did all soldiers. They were considered officers. When they arrived in France, they were assigned duty at various areas where there was conflict. Eventually, others joined Grace and her original group. At the most intense part of the war, they handled 150,000 calls each day.
Grace and the others were fondly called Hello Girls, a named they despised. They preferred to be thought of as Switchboard Soldiers. They were to become essential to the allied victory.
When World War I ended, the soldiers began to return to America. Grace and the other Switchboard Soldiers however were to remain in Europe to handle the post-war communications. Their tour of duty was not considered over.
Grace received the Distinguished Service Award for her support in the war effort. When the Switchboard Soldiers did return to America, they were surprised to learn that the military never actually considered them to be soldiers. They were not eligible for veteran’s benefits. They were considered civilian contractors to the military although none of them had ever signed a contract.
Over the years, twenty bills had been proposed in Congress to grant them veteran status but all were rejected. Finally in 1977, nearly 60 years after their service in World War I, President Jimmy Carter signed legislation that granted them military status. Only 18 of the Switchboard Soldiers were still alive at the time. Grace unfortunately passed away in 1960.
Just imagine what tortured rationale the military and Congress must have used to deny the Switchboard Soldiers military status for over 60 years. They had replaced male soldiers who had failed at being switchboard operators. Those male soldiers had received veteran’s benefits. The Switchboard Soldiers had been at the battle fronts. They had come under fire. Their efforts were essential to winning the war. But those who never experienced the horrors of World War I thought them to be undeserving of soldier status. And that is shameful.
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“For exceptional ability…[and] untiring devotion to her exacting duties under trying conditions…to assure the success of the telephone service during the operations of the First Army against the Saint Michel salient and the exertions to the north of Verdun.” – an excerpt from the citation granting Grace the Distinguished Service Award