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Switchboard soldiers [LP] a novel

In June 1917, General John Pershing arrived in France to establish American forces in Europe. He immediately found himself unable to communicate with troops in the field. Pershing needed operators who could swiftly and accurately connect multiple calls, speak fluent French and English, remain steady...

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Main Author: Chiaverini, Jennifer (Author)
Format: Books Print Book Large Print
Language: English
Published: New York, NY : Harper Large Print, an imprint of HarperCollins Pulishers, [2022] Ã2022
Edition: First Harper Large Print edition.
Subjects:
Banker, Grace, > 1892-1960 > Fiction.
World War, 1914-1918 > Participation, Female > Fiction.
Women soldiers > United States > 20th century > Fiction.
Telephone operators > Fiction.
Historical fiction.
War fiction.
Large print books.
Summary: In June 1917, General John Pershing arrived in France to establish American forces in Europe. He immediately found himself unable to communicate with troops in the field. Pershing needed operators who could swiftly and accurately connect multiple calls, speak fluent French and English, remain steady under fire, and be utterly discreet, since the calls often conveyed classified information. At the time, nearly all well-trained 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 twenty-year-old 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. The risk of death was real--the women worked as bombs fell around them--as was the threat of a deadly new disease: the Spanish Flu. Not all of the telephone operators would survive. The women of the U.S. Army Signal Corps served with honor and played an essential role in achieving the Allied victory. Their story has never been the focus of a novel...until now.
Item Description: "A novel of the heroic women who served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War I"--Cover.
Physical Description: 736 pages (large print) ; 23 cm
Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references (pages 733-736).
ISBN: 9780063241978
0063241978
Author Notes: Jennifer Chiaverini is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Chicago. She used to be a writing instructor at Penn State University and Edgewood College. She is the author of the Elm Creek Quilts series and four volumes of quilt patterns inspired by her novels. She is also the designer of the Elm Creek Quilts fabric lines from Red Rooster Fabrics. Among her most recent works, is the New York Times bestselling novel, Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker.

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