LPC Book Club

The LPC Book Club will meet on Feb. 8 at 7:00 p.m. in Room 311 to discuss Switchboard Soldiers by Jennifer Chiaverini, a novel based on the experiences of women in the U.S. Army Signal Corps in World War I. Joan Cummins will lead our discussion. In 1917, General John Pershing arrived in France and found that he needed telephone operators who could swiftly and accurately connect multiple calls to troops in the field, speak fluent French, and English, remain steady under fire and be discreet with classified information. While nearly all well-trained American telephone operators were women, they were not permitted to enlist. Nevertheless, the U.S. Army Signal Corps promptly began recruiting them, and more than 7,600 women responded. Deployed throughout France, including near the front lines, the operators endured hardships and risked death or injury from gunfire, bombardments, and the Spanish Flu.

For additional information about the LPC Book Club, contact Nina Dorsch at don.nina.dorsch@gmail.com.