The Millstone Times October 2021

Women Answered

In World War I telephone operators were needed in Europe. General John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I, quickly saw that women—American women– would be better at telephone work than the men. The Signal Corps was all male, and they were not only assigned to string lines but to handle all communications and were not doing well at the task. A call was put out throughout America for women to serve in Europe as operators. The preferred can- didates were fluent in French and English. When the U.S. entered the war in the spring 1917, the U.S. Signal Corps was immediately tasked with stringing new telephone lines. The communication system in war-torn Europe was in shambles. Gen- eral Pershing even made sure that telephone elements were part of the equipment he brought with him on his arrival in Europe. He knew this was a priority. As Pershing waited for the system to become operational, he saw that the men were skilled at stringing the lines. However, he noted they were slow and impatient when it came to plugging and unplugging the calls, as operators had to do at that time. The French offered their operators. Pershing tried the French women in the jobs for a time, but the women were not as adept as American operators, and the language difficulties were very frustrating. In November of 1917, Pershing ordered that advertisements be run across America, seeking bilingual women operators—or bilingual women who were willing to be trained. One thousand seven hundred fifty applied; 450 were accepted for training; only 223 qualified to serve. Marguerite Martin (1894-1959), a resident of San Mateo, California, was among those chosen for training. She had an ideal background. Her father was a Frenchman who contracted yellow fever when working to help build the Panama Canal, long before she was born. He was sent north to San Francisco to re- cover. While there, he met another French immigrant whom he married.

Together the French couple set up a happy household and soon had seven children—one son and six daughters, one of whom was Marguerite. When the only son died from illness, Marguerite’s mother was distraught. She had a mental breakdown and was unable to function. Her father could not raise six girls on his own, so he turned to the church and placed all six daughters in the Catholic orphanage in San Mateo. (During this era, orphanages were frequently used even when there was a living parent. Lee Duncan who served in World War I and found Rin Tin Tin grew up in an orphanage though his mother was alive.) The story now turns to a man named Felix Anthony Rivera. (This story was shared with me via documents and family history by Patrick Lundquist, a Vietnam veteran, who was exploring the family papers after the death of his own mother.) Lovera (1890-1964) was an Italian immigrant who came to San Francisco in about 1907. He got work as a delivery boy at a bakery, and as he helped in the kitchen, he also learned about baking bread. The orphanage was among the bakery’s customers, and one day in 1914, Lovera arrived with the bread for the orphanage. Marguerite was the young woman who accepted the delivery, and Felix was smitten. The two became friends, but Marguerite refused all overtures of marriage as Felix was not a U.S. citizen. In 1917 when President Woodrow Wilson made the declaration that the U.S. would enter the war, Lovera saw his opportunity. Immigrants were being

recruited with the promise of citizenship for those who served. He signed up on June 6, 1917. It is often said that an army travels on its stomach. Because of the truth to this, bakers and cooks were in high demand. Lovera was enlisted with the rank of Sergeant in the Quartermaster Corps. These men were also so designated as they were always in harm’s way. The kitchens needed to be close to the front lines in order to feed the men. With no preservatives used in bread at that time, all baking was also done close to enemy fire. Call for French-Speaking American Women According to her grandson Pat Lundquist, this was a difficult time for Marguerite. She worried about Felix and wished for his safe return. Then in November of 1917, Marguerite found a newspaper ad asking for French/English-speaking women to train as operators to serve in France. As the daughter of French immigrants, Marguerite was fluent in French. She saw this as an opportunity to serve her country and be closer to Felix. Told to bring about $500 for her uniform and supplies, Marguerite arrived for training and was among those selected to serve. They were given the Army oath of office, and in June 0f 1918, she boarded a transport bound for Europe. The journey was long and difficult. The Germans used sub- marines to torpedo ships on their way to France. The captain steered defensively in an effort to avoid the torpedoes, though they did encounter and had to fire on a submarine as they neared shore. Marguerite and the other women landed in England before being transported to France. Once in

New York Herald, photo of 60 telephone operators; Marguerite upper right.

44 The Millstone Times

October 2021