Draft:Berthe Hunt

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Berthe Hunt (September 28, 1884 - May 16, 1978)[1] was a wife, mother, and telephone operator who served during WW1 in 1918. She was a part of the Hello Girls who were all telephone operators for the Signal Corps to manage communication during the war. She was stationed in France in 1918 and led by the chief operator Grace Banker.[2] During her time in France, she would communicate with many people on different lines which kept her and the other women occupied for hours. On her availability time, she would write in a diary to write down what she saw and experienced in hopes of letting her husband read it one day.[3]

Hunt was born on September 28, 1884 and lived in various locations such as Berkeley, Alameda, and San Diego in 1920-1930. Her maiden name was Matignon but changed once she married Reuben Hunt. They had one son in 1920 and named him Raymond Matignon Hunt.[4] Hunt loved her husband dearly and was devastated to be separated from him while she was stationed in France in 1918. She kept a diary just for him to read once they reunited. Hunt was sent back home once the war had ended and the military failed to recognize her and the other women who served in the army as real soldiers. The military did not recognize them as soldiers until 1977. A year later, Berthe Hunt died on May 16, 1978 and was buried in either San Bruno or San Mateo, California.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L1ZT-XDK/berthe-matignon-1884-1978
  2. ^ "Hello girls set stage for women in the military". 2 March 2007.
  3. ^ https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L1ZT-XDK/berthe-matignon-1884-1978
  4. ^ https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L1ZT-XDK/berthe-matignon-1884-1978
  5. ^ https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L1ZT-XDK/berthe-matignon-1884-1978