Loretta Perfectus Walsh | |
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| Born | April 22, 1896 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Died | August 6, 1925 (aged 29) Olyphant, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Employer | United States Navy |
Loretta Perfectus Walsh (April 22, 1896 – August 6, 1925) became the first American active-duty Navy woman, the first woman to enlist in the U.S. Navy, and the first woman allowed to serve as a woman in any of the United States armed forces, when she enlisted as a sailor in the U.S. Naval Reserve on March 17, 1917. Walsh subsequently became the first woman U.S. Navy petty officer when she was sworn in as Chief Yeoman on March 21, 1917.