Funding for To The Contrary provided by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, The Park Foundation, and the Charles A. Frueauff Foundation.

Coming up on To The Contrary.

In that critical moment, the women were able to translate both French and English.

both French troops calling or American troops calling.

And if in those seconds, it's critical that your calls get connected.

So that way you can coordinate an attack that then mitigates, you know, soldiers dying.

Intro Music Hello.

Im Bonnie Erbe.

Welcome to To The Contrary, a discussion of news and social trends from diverse perspectives.

Since the Revolutionary War, women have played integral roles in times of conflict, often without full recognition or compensation for their services.

Today, we welcome Jodie Grenier as our woman thought leader.

Jodie is a Marine [Corps] veteran, former intelligence officer, and current CEO of the nonprofit organization Foundation for Women Warriors.

Their mission is to honor, empower, and provide support to the women who have bravely answered the call to serve our nation.

Jodie is currently advocating for a bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal in honor of the female telephone operators of the Army Signal Corps of World War One, known as the.

Hello Girls.

Welcome to you, Jodie Grenier.

How are you doing?

I'm doing great.

Thanks so much for having me.

Very happy to have you.

So for those who are not familiar with the.

Hello Girls, please tell our audience who they were and what they did.

During World War One.

General Pershing, had command of the American Expeditionary Forces.

And, from there he had the doughboys connecting calls.

he he called back to the U.S. and asked to have female operators sent over, which over 7000 women volunteered, 226 women, came, were deployed.

And then served in the Signal Corps Army unit there.

They provided, connections to 20.

They connected over 26 million calls in which they, translated both French and English at a rate of five calls per minute.

When the men were doing the job, they were connecting only one call per minute.

So when we take a look at their impact, had General Pershing not recruited or the women had not volunteered, only 5 million calls would have got through versus the 26 million calls.

Why were the men so much slower than the women?

Well, I'm not going to comment on that.

I mean, so you can't tell us technically what the.

You know, women, back then, there were very few jobs that women, you know, were allowed to do or could do.

And so most of them had been telephone operators in the US.

I do believe that, you know, in that critical moment, the women were able to translate both French and English.

both French troops calling or American troops calling.

And in those seconds, it's critical that your calls get connected.

So that way you can coordinate an attack that then mitigates, you know, soldiers dying.

Would they have been able to speak with each other during conflicts, if not for the Hello Girls?

I mean, I relate this back to, my time as an intelligence analyst.

you know, your there's this old saying that without comms, without communication, there's no bombs.

And so when you do not have communication back to those making decision up to the front lines, you are, essentially dealing with lives on the line.

And so by these women connecting those calls at the rate of which they did and being able to translate that basically meant the difference between someone, you know, trench being, being attacked and no longer existing.

to them, being able to target someone that was trying to target them.

So, essentially they were a huge component of, of the war and, and ensuring that our, our boys came home.

Tell us how close they were to the front.

Yeah.

So, there was, a bombing in which two of them actually, you know, were killed and made the ultimate sacrifice.

so they were pretty close.

Please tell me about your fight to get public recognition for these women.

Yeah.

So my organization, foundation for Women Warriors, is a 103 year old nonprofit dedicated to honoring the service of our women veterans while empowering their future.

So we are a part of a collective effort, along with other many other organizations, to steward congressional support, to, get these women recognized.

We see so many issues, with a lack of recognition for women who've contributed on par with their male counterparts in this country that, have led to a lack of understanding the needs of women veterans.

And so our organization is doing a small, you know, doing our small part in ensuring that our community that supports our mission understands and is educated about the contributions that women getting as far back as the Revolutionary War have made to our country and our national security.

When I started covering women in the military, which goes back 35 years now, that there were, there were still scandals going on, there was widespread sexism.

And while I'm sure I'm sure it still exists or but not to the extent that it did that time ago.

Has that helped you push forward this, desire for a monument for their services?

I think that change is slow.

And though we've seen, progress over the years that we've also learned not to rest on our laurels.

And that, though, because you make, some positive, improvements to, to the culture within the military and to the veteran space that, there are still things that need, to need to be addressed.

For instance, women are the fastest growing segment of the veteran population, but they're also the fastest growing segment of the homeless veteran population.

I think the military in and of itself, is a microcosm for, the same issues we see in society.

And so, when you look back to the 35 years you've covered up women's, you know, military service.

I think that it parallels that of women's rights in the civilian sector.

And a lot of times, you know, even if we think about the Hello Girls, the Suffragette movement, they basically leveraged women and approved the women serving in World War one as a way to gain the right to vote.

and so I think that there's, a lot of progress to be made.

but it takes education and it takes, including not just young women and women to know our history, but the, you know, our society at large.

And so it's it's slow to get out there.

but I have seen positive improvements.

And even from the time that I served, when women weren't officially allowed in, combat roles, that has has changed.

but that doesn't mean that the services out there are, are as accelerating as fast as women are serving.

last time I checked, it was something around 15% of the military service's jobs were filled by women.

is it growing?

Yes.

It's growing, I think by, I think, the estimate is by, 2040. you know, it'll be closer to 20%, of women making up the service.

But even when I served in the Marine Corps way back in 2000, at that time, I believe that, you know, women were maybe 5 or 6% of the Marine Corps.

And to today we're looking at about 10%.

across each service, it's around 15, maybe 16%.

You were in the Marine Corps.

Do you think that's the best place for women in the military these days, or their services that are.

I mean, that's you're kind of be pretty tough to be a marine or they're services that are easier for women, to perform.

I think that, I think it's not just a gender specific, you know, category.

I think that, you know, I had a sister that served in the Air Force.

I served in the Marine Corps.

I had an aunt that served in the Navy.

I think that it's up to the individual, regardless of gender, to decide, what makes the most sense for me?

I chose, that was the first time that I probably, can remember choosing a culture versus a job.

I, was a certified nursing assistant in high school.

I thought that maybe I wanted to be a nurse, but then when I looked at all the different branches, nursing was not an option in the Marine Corps, but the Marine Corps ethos and, just the culture of the Marine Corps really spoke to me.

And, I would say a man or woman in the Marine Corps is probably the most, has the highest standards of, each branch and will hold you to them.

And so I, I welcome any man or woman who's up for the challenge to enlist in the Marine Corps.

Now, you are also advocating for a documentary, on the.

Hello Girls.

Tell me about what you're doing and how that's going.

So one of the things we do at Foundation for Women Warriors is we offer, documentary screenings online.

and, accessible from by anyone across the country.

To join and learn more about women's military history, do through these documentaries.

So we, screened the Hello Girls, at the beginning of this month.

we have more to be determined.

coming through, you know, until we can get this Congressional Gold Medal approved.

We find that's a great medium in order to, educate, you know, our community and really rally support and have them reach out to their representatives and ask for support of the Congressional Gold Medal.

I must say, we used to have our own film festival on to the country many years ago.

And, we gave an award to the Hello Girls documentary.

Please, if you can tell me that.

Walk our viewers through what the documentary shows.

I think the first, part of the documentary is really a few historians sharing that they didn't even know the story of the Hello Girls.

And I will say that this bill, this is not the first time it's been proposed in Congress which proposed, you know, back in 2018.

And even I didn't know about the Hello Girls back then.

And so the documentary has done a phenomenal job of making its way, into people's homes and, into, you know, online.

So it's accessible and people can learn.

and then from there, they detail, you know, just where the women were recruited from, the type of living conditions that they had, that how critical their role was and then how they went home to, to never receiving veterans benefits.

They wore army uniforms.

They swore an oath.

And then they were told, no, you're not a veteran.

You don't have, the same rights as veterans.

And, there was quite a debate for many years about, you know, what their status would be.

And then it wasn't until 1977 that they were actually given veteran status.

And you would imagine, 1918, 1977, a lot of those women had passed on.

And, one of the most emotional stories that really comes from the Hello Girls is about how one of the women, you know, said she didn't want some wild recognition for her service.

She just wanted to flag at her grave.

And, I think that's very touching.

And it's, a testament to, you know, the warrior spirit that resides in everyone that volunteers to serve for their country and put their life on the line.

Okay.

And, with your online screenings of the documentary, have you been able to rouse up support, for family members and and fans of the documentary to contact their, members of Congress and ask them to support the award?

We have.

So, as I said, early in March, we, we held a screening and we had over 100 attendees from all over the country, of which, we had a, someone reach out and say that they are, a family member of one of the.

Hello Girls.

And so we were able to put them in a contact with, the Centennial Commission that is working alongside of, a number of organizations that are pushing this through.

we like I said, we plan on doing more of the screenings.

There's also a Hello Girls musical that's taking place up in Sonoma, California in April.

And so, there's also an effort to identify where the Hello Girls are, are buried and, and where they're buried and put a veteran marker on their grave.

There's a website solely dedicated to the Hello, Girls Congressional Gold Medal, and it can be accessed online.

and basically, we're just trying to, in this collective effort, get as many representatives to co-sponsor the bill so that we can pay these women their due and so that their families can, be comforted that our country is finally recognizing them for the their massive efforts, that in a lot of ways probably hasten the end of the war mitigated, a lot more of our soldiers being wounded and saved, you know, thousands of lives.

So what, what are objections in Congress?

Where are they coming from?

Is it just the cost of of setting up the memorial?

We don't I don't think that there's, objections.

I think that it's just a matter of making sure that enough, enough folks, are reaching out to their representatives and, sharing just why this is so important to them and their community.

How many families are left or.

Well, I would imagine just a handful, if that of the actual Hello Girls are, still alive.

Right?

Right.

None of them are still alive.

But the families.

I do know that, we're in touch with a handful of families.

So their families are still around, and they.

When you say families, you mean they're the next generation?

Their children?

I would probably say we're dealing more with, grandchildren, you know, great nieces and great nephews.

you know, probably a couple generations.

How has it affected their, offspring, their children, their grandchildren?

to not for their mothers, grandmothers, great grandmothers, not who not to have been rewarded or noticed or recognized for their service.

How has it changed the lives of family members?

I think that, you know, in, especially in the documentary, we hear from, you know, one woman who says her grandmother not receiving recognition, as a veteran, really, really made her feel under appreciated by her country.

And so I think this is, like, anything, writing a wrong and, doing what's right despite, you know, the women being passed, it's still very meaningful.

And we're upholding our promise to our country's veterans, years after, and making sure that history is shown in the right light.

Can you please talk a bit about the mission and objectives for your foundation?

So our organization, Foundation for Women Warriors, is a 103 year old nonprofit dedicated to enhancing the economic and personal well-being of women veterans.

We do this through a number of programs, that fall under our women veteran and Transition emergency services.

We provide emergency financial assistance to prevent homelessness.

We provide working and student veteran mothers with stipends to put their kids in daycare, school camps during, school breaks, as well as, after school care.

We also provide professional development and critical goods, as well as, connections to other organizations that can help them with things like legal assistance, one on one job, skills training, as well as, you know, finding, other resources for perhaps mental health.

We really take a holistic approach to serving women veterans.

I know, a shocking percentage of homeless, are our veteran male veterans.

do we have any data on what percentage of, homeless Americans are female veterans or women who did serve, like, the Hello Girls, but were never recognized?

So we know that women veterans are the fastest growing segment of veterans, and that they're the also the fastest growing segment of homeless veterans.

When you look at, their numbers.

And so, off the top of my head, no, I do not have the percentage.

But we know that women seldom self-report that they're homeless and that they're sleeping in, cars or couch surfing a lot of times because they're afraid of, having their children removed from their custody.

You know, when you're transitioning out of the military and you're looking for housing and you might have moved in, you're looking for comparable work, and then you also have a child that you have to, enroll in a new school, find either aftercare or daycare for, the cost burden associated with being a single parent, transitioning out of the military can both be, you know, financially a struggle, but also a struggle on your emotions.

And then you couple that with the identity or the loss of identity that you are facing, because you're no longer in the military and a part of a, a unit that is, advancing a mission.

You know, you're really kind of out on your own.

And so our organization not only provides the services that we do, but we also connect women to one another to ensure that they have a social support network.

A lot of times the women come to various, distributions or workshops.

We have and we provide childcare on site.

removing that barrier of attendance.

And they leave with playdates for their kids and they leave not because they knew other attendees beforehand, but because they're able to build that social, connection there and feel seen and heard and understood by their sisters.

I think that's the biggest thing people miss is that just because women are serving in increasing numbers, it doesn't mean that they're in all women units like they were back in World War two or World War One.

Now they're in coed units and, they might still only be 1 or 2 women in a unit.

So they're not transitioning out into a society where they can easily identify their sisters.

the New York Times earlier this year ran a story saying that, a guy who was a, who was an instructor and how to use grenades never even got anywhere close to the front.

He had severe mental damage, mental health damage from just being around, grenades exploding every so often.

And but all the stories I see seem to focus on men in the military.

Do you believe women in the military deserve more?

Should be included in these stories that are coming out?

I think what we're dealing with is, you know, a society that is slow to understand and recognize that women have now been in these non traditional roles for a number of years.

and I you know, I want to clarify what you're talking about in terms of you know, being around grenades or any type of, shaped charges or, or working with any explosives.

It's not that they, promote some sort of mental illness, it's that you're incurring brain damage and that brain damage.

Then needs right treated as such.

And so, you know, whether it's a traumatic brain injury or you have a concussion yet we're seeing that folks that didn't deploy but that are working with explosives, have, you know, some severe, health issues.

You know, when we think about mental health, we need to think that, you know, it is a health issue.

so I do think that women are being prioritized.

We're seeing it within the VA.

There's, there's at least in the past ten years, I've seen, great advances made, but we're playing catch up.

We're playing catch up.

And that doesn't mean we're where we need to be.

and, you know, so long as we continue to have a coed fighting force of which we need to ensure our security in this country, we will see more and more stories.

And part of what our organization does is it's not all about the challenges faced after service or faced in service.

We also shower and celebrate.

the women's achievements that that they've not only made for women to go into the military and serve in the military, but have been a testament to women's abilities in every industry and have really been beacons of hope for all women.

Thank you for your important work.

Jodie Grenier, thank you for your continued service to this country.

And good luck with the recognition that you're trying to get for the Hello Girls and their descendants.

That's it for this edition.

Keep the conversation going on all our social media platforms and visit our website, pbs.org.

Slash to the contrary, and whether you agree or think to the contrary.

See you next time.

Outro Music I write women's history, and I didn't know the stories of the Hello Girls.

I had never heard of them.

They were switchboard operators.

Home they came and did they get their veteran status?

They did not.

All of the things that we have today, all of the things, all of those rights could come back down to those few women who served our country.

Funding for To The Contrary provided by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, The Park Foundation, and the Charles A. Frueauff Foundation.

For a transcript or to see an online version of this episode of To the Contrary, please visit our website at pbs.org/to the contrary.

You're watching PBS.