The Army recruited Pooley and women like her to manage telephone switching stations during World War I. Known as “Hello Girls” these civilian members of Signal Corps Female Telephone Operators Unit were bilingual in English and French and operated switchboards for the American Expeditionary Forces in more than 75 towns and cities in France and England. In 1978, Congress finally gave them veteran status and honorable discharges. Women like Pooley paved the way for the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots and later full integration as Soldiers in the U.S. Army.