Hero Dogs Puppy Naming

The TowerCares Foundation is a proud sponsor of Hero Dogs, a Brookeville, Maryland-based nonprofit that trains and provides service companion animals for disabled veterans. TowerCares helps fund service dog training, including the last phase where the veteran and service dog are matched and begin their lives together.

We are pleased to announce that we have a unique opportunity to name one of the Hero Dogs in the latest litter of puppies, and we’d like your help! You get to help choose our puppy’s name from a selection of military heroes.

During World War I, the Signal Corps Female Telephone Operators Unit completed their training at Camp Franklin, now part of Fort Meade.  Referred to as the “Hello Girls,” every command to advance or retreat or hold fire was delivered by phone and it took an operator to connect the call.  Operators left for Europe in March 1918 and soon were operating telephones in many exchanges of the American Expeditionary Forces.  These ladies wore U.S. Army Uniforms and were subject to Army Regulations but considered civilians until 1978 when Congress approved Veteran Status and honorable discharges for this Unit.

Required to be fluent in French and English, they provided critical assistance with connecting phone calls and translating conversations between French and American troops.  A total of 223 were selected out of almost 8,000 applications.  Because of their translation skills, the women handled national security secrets, frequently served near the front lines and came under bombardment.  In fact, one of the photos of these military heroes at work showed their chairs draped with combat helmets and gas masks. 

Option #1

Name the puppy Derby in honor of Chief Operator Grace Derby Banker who led the 33 women of Telephone Unit No. 1 and received the Distinguished Service Medal on May 26, 1919.
 

Name the puppy Inez in honor of Chief Operator Inez Ann Murphy Crittenden who led Telephone Unit No. 2.

Puppy Name Option #3 and #4
Agnes Meyer Driscoll was one of the great cryptanalysts of all time.  When the United States declared war on Germany in 1917, she enlisted at age 28, starting out as a stenographer but was soon assigned to the Navy’s postal and censorship office.  She was then transferred to its code and signal section to protect naval communications.  It is said that Agnes was a key, unsung reason why the U.S. won the Battle of Midway.

Agnes unlocked the secrets of Japan’s naval fleet code and trained most of the leading naval cryptanalysts of WWI laying much of the groundwork for their important contributions.

Name the puppy Agnes in honor of Agnes Meyer Driscoll.

Name the puppy Driscoll in honor of Agnes Meyer Driscoll.