Opha May Johnson, 1st Female to enlist in Marine Corps
Just one day after being authorized in 1918 to do so, Opha May Johnson wrote a new chapter in history when she became the first woman to enlist in the United States Marine Corps to serve during World War I, opening doors and breaking barriers throughout the sea services.
12 August, 1918, Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels authorized women to join the Marine Corps Reserve. Today, women serve in all occupational fields in the Marine Corps. Semper Fi – then and now.
OPHA MAY JOHNSON
The first female US Marine USS Nimitz
Opha May Johnson
May 4, 1878 – August 11, 1955
Opha May Johnson, was born in Kokomo, Ind., on May 4, 1878, she was raised in D.C. and graduated second in her class from Wood’s Commercial Business College. On Dec. 20, 1898, she married a musician named Victor Hugo Johnson. Before she was in the Marines, she worked for 14 years in the civil service in the Interstate Commerce Department as Clerk to the Quartermaster General. Johnson enlisted in the Marine Corps on August 13, 1918 at the age of 40.
The reason as to why Johnson joined and what she did on the job is still not clear, because those attempting to tell her story have not found diaries or other personal records of Johnson’s feelings. In the absence of such documents, several historians have worked mostly from newspaper articles, courthouse records, performance evaluations and other documents about her in the U.S. Marine Corps archives, which suggest that her top marks prompted the invite to enlist.
At the time of Johnson’s enlistment, the U.S. was in the difficult times of World War I, and she was one of 300 women nicknamed “Marinettes” to take over office jobs at Marine Corps headquarters so that the men who usually did them could be sent to France. They also supported nurses tending to victims of the 1918 influenza pandemic. By the time the Second World War, as top officers had realized how vital women were for such tasks, they had lost the cutesy nickname and gained respect.
Johnson was active-duty until February of 1919, when she is thought to have moved into a more prestigious clerical position. She stayed at Marine headquarters in D.C., and retired from government service in 1943. She died on Aug. 11, 1955, and was buried in an unmarked grave; she left behind no children.