In 1917, cross-country airmail service experimentation began in the US. The US Army thought it would be a great way to give its pilots extra cross-country flight experience, so it requested operating rights. The Postmaster General and the Secretary of War thought it sounded like a fine idea. So, the Army Signal Corp began flying mail across the country.
If you are like me, you may not be overly familiar with the Army Signal Corps. You probably aren’t like me, so you can just stop reading here because, Smarty Pants, you already know about the ASC. For everyone else… The ASC is all about communications and information systems — and they manage the electromagnetic spectrum. That’s right. Well, at least it says so in their mission statement. From wig-wag to heliograph to telegraph and beyond, the ASC knows communications. Checkout their Wikipedia page to learn about wig-wag, Hello Girls, and more.