In the summer of 1918, the Franklin Cantonment, a Signal Corps Camp of Instruction, opened within 1 mile of the original Camp Meade. This 400-acre camp housed 11,000 men and women in 19 battalions in 599 structures and had its own drill hall, theater, and YWCA Hostess House within the area bordered by Ernie Pyle Street, Chamberlin Ave, Rock Ave, and Mapes Road. It served as a training site for Signal Corps telephone operators, women known as the "Hello Girls," who were among the first women to serve as uniformed members of the Army, 24 years before the founding of the Women's Army Corps. Of 7,000 women who applied, only about 450 were selected, with minimal qualifications including fluency in both English and French and excellent physical condition. Initial training for the operators was conducted by AT&T personnel, and after finishing that program they reported to Camp Franklin for military training under Signal Corps instructors. On March 6, 1918, 33 operators sailed for France, the first of 233 female operators who eventually served overseas. When the war ended, the War Department refused to consider the women eligible for veteran's benefits, but in 1971 an act of Congress granted the Hello Girls formal recognition as veterans.
