The Hello Girls

In 1918, the U.S. Army Signal Corps sent 223 women to France as telephone operators to help win the Great War. Like Joan of Arc before them, they wanted to save France. By World War I's end, these women, known affectionately as the Hello Girls, had connected more than 26 million calls, and they continued to serve during the occupation of Germany and the Paris Peace Conference, with the last not returning home till 1920. Despite that long service, and although they wore Army uniforms and swore Army oaths, the Hello Girls were informed after the war that they weren’t really soldiers after all. For 60 years, they fought the US government for recognition. In 1977, they won, but only 33 were still alive for the victory. Told through 100-year-old letters, photos, rare archival footage, the only known audio of a real Hello Girl, and interviews with family and historians, The Hello Girls brings to life an unfairly forgotten story of American heroism. (St. Louis International Film Festival)