Opha May Jacob Johnson

Opha May Jacob Johnson was born in Kokomo in 1878 and became the first female Marine in the United State Marine Corps Women in 1918. Moved and motivated to serve her country during WW1, she was the first in a line of 300 women to enlist in the Marines and thus, made history with her action. Although the war came to an end a few months after her enrollment, she returned to civil service in 1919 as a clerk in the War Department, a year before she could even vote. Today over 12,000 women are enlisted in the Marine Corps and 1,300 of them are officers. She passed away in August of 1955 and her funeral was held on August 13th, 37 years to the day from when she decided to answer the call to become a Marine. Opha will be inducted into the Hall of Legends class in Howard County in a ceremony that is taking place today. #feministfriday