Fleet Master Chief April D Beldo
The first woman and first African-American in multiple Navy positions, including the first female Command Master Chief of an aircraft carrier and the first female Command Master Chief for recruit training.
Category Archives: Maritime
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Captain Rosemary Bryant Mariner
Captain Rosemary Mariner was a pioneer female naval aviator.
Edith Giovannoni
She served as a Yeoman (F) in the U.S. Naval Reserve Force during the World War I era. At the beginning of January 1919, while assigned to the Bureau of Navigation in Washington, she was promoted from Yeoman Second Class to Yeoman First Class. After leaving active duty in 1919 she was employed by the Navy Department, later shifting to the U.S. Marine Corps, and worked for the Marines until retiring from U.S. Government service in the later 1940s or early 1950s.
Lieutenant Commander Mildred McAfee
She became the Navy’s first female line officer on 3 August 1942. Commissioned a Lieutenant Commander in the Naval Reserve, she simultaneously undertook the demanding task of Director of the Navy’s newly-established Women’s Reserve. In November 1943, following the passage of new legislation by the Congress, she was promoted to the rank of Captain.
Lenah Higbee
In January 1911, she became the second Superintendent of the Nurse Corps. For her achievements in leading the Corps through the First World War, Chief Nurse Higbee was awarded the Navy Cross, the first woman to receive that medal.
Mary Sears
Legendary oceanographer Commander Mary Sears was a member of nine scientific and honorary societies and was a longtime member of the WHOI governing board. Throughout her career, she provided leadership across many oceanographic disciplines and mentored generations of young scientists.
Lieutenant Commander Josephine Beatrice Bowman
In 1908, she joined the newly-established U.S. Navy Nurse Corps as one of its first twenty members. She was promoted to Chief Nurse in 1911. In 1919, she became the first Navy women to serve at sea.
Mildred Marjorie Cleghorn Womack
One of six Native American women who enlisted in the US Coast Guard SPARS during World War II
Corrine Koshiway Goslin
Corrine Koshiway Goslin Mzhickteno (Otoe) dedicated her life to serving her tribal nation and the United States, including by serving in the Coast Guard during World War II.
Anne Chamberlaine
Putting on the dress of a sailor, she joined the crew of a fine ship, commanded by one of her brothers; and in an engagement with the French, she fought most gallantly for upwards of six hours.