First Woman Enlists in U.S. Marines
Opha Mae Johnson, reportedly the first woman to enlist in the U.S. Marines, enlisted on this day.
Women engaged in a long struggle to achieve full equality in military service. The Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of June 12, 1948 allowed women to become permanent members of the armed forces. An Pentagon policy on January 24, 2013, allowed women to serve in combat units.
Other major events regarding women in the military include the 1996 Supreme Court decision ordering the Virginia Military Institute to admit women.
Learn more about Opha Mae Johnson here
View the Women Marines Association web site.
Learn more: Evelyn Monahan and Rosemary Neidel Greenlee, A Few Good Women: America’s Military Women from World War I to the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (2010)
And more about women in the military: http://www.military.com/topics/women-in-the-military