Major Marcelite Jordan Harris

Born: 7 September 1943, United States
Died: 7 September 2018
Country most active: United States
Also known as: NA

The following is republished from the Arlington National Cemetery. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).

Marcelite Jordan Harris, U.S. Air Force (1943–2018) — Maj. Gen. Marcelite Jordan Harris retired in 1997 as the highest-ranking female officer in the U.S. Air Force and the highest ranking African American woman in the Department of Defense. A graduate of Spelman Academy, she was commissioned as an officer in 1965, rising through the ranks to become, in 1991, the first African American female brigadier general in the Air Force. Many of her assignments represented “firsts” for women in the Air Force. Her medals included the Bronze Star and the Legion of Merit. (Section 30, Grave 621-RH)