From New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini, a bold,
revelatory novel about one of the great untold stories of World War
I-the women of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, who broke down gender
barriers in the military and battled a pandemic as they helped lead
the Allies to victory. "An eye-opening and detailed novel about
remarkable female soldiers. . . Chiaverini weaves the intersecting
threads of these brave women's lives together, highlighting their
deep sense of pride and duty."-Kirkus Reviews 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 telephone 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. Deployed throughout France,
including near the front lines, the operators endured hardships and
risked death or injury from gunfire, bombardments, and the Spanish
Flu. Not all of them 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.
General
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