Talk:Opha May Johnson

Fighting women
USMC allowed women to fight in WW2? On what planet? Trekphiler 02:22, 19 December 2005 (UTC)


 * They didn't "fight" they "served in combat zones." Like as nurses and other jobs.  On this planet actually (earth).  Chexmix53 (talk) 23:13, 6 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Good to see that was so clear I needed to ask. And that it took 30 mo to get a rise out of you.  TREKphiler  00:02, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

Enlistment date

 * (moved here from article text) tedder (talk) 19:48, 28 August 2010 (UTC)

I also quote from this second website "http://www.usmcpress.com/heritage/women_marines.htm" which has the following information: "on 12 August 1918, the Secretary of the Navy granted authority to enroll women for clerical duty in the Marine Corps Reserve. The next day, Opha M. Johnson enlisted and became the first official  Woman Marine.  During the remainder of World War I, 305 women enlisted to "free a man to fight."  Over 20 years later during World War II, roughly 1000 officers and 18,000 enlisted women served, led by Col. Ruth C. Streeter.  During the last year of the war, all available male Marines were battling the Japanese in the Pacific.  In their absence, Women Marines represented over half of the personnel at Marine Corps bases in the continental United States. " Should Opha's date of enlistment in the article be changed to 1918 from 1917? Ken mcelroy (talk) 02:17, 18 August 2010 (UTC)Aggsip

Date of Birth
Date of birth is questionable. I don't believe Opha Mae Johnson was 40 years old when she enlisted. Most Marine Corps histories list her date of birth as Feb 13 1900 and death as January ? 1976. http://www.lejeune.marines.mil/PublicAffairs/News/ArticleView/tabid/1108/Article/4082/womens-history-program-strikes-rich-historical-cord-at-camp-lejeune.aspx

According to the 1900 United States Federal Census, Opha May Johnson (nee Jacob) was born in May 1879 - she was 38 years of age when she enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve. She married Victor Hugo Johnson on December 19,1898 in Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia, Select Marriages, 1830-1921.

The picture is clearly not that of an 18 year old, and is captioned as being taken shortly after her enlistment. It is interesting to note that she was 76 years old when she died and, given the 1900 birth year erroneously attributed, that would explain the year of death as being 1976. I ask you though, if the first ever women Marine died as late as 1976, her death would have been published in every major newspaper. As it is, her gravesite was only recently (Sept 2014) cataloged, and remains unmarked. I have sent that link to the Women Marines Association, in the hope they will rectify at least that. I also plan to contact the Historical Division in Quantico to verify my belief that is the correct Opha May Johnson.--KMJKWhite (talk) 04:39, 31 December 2014 (UTC)

Middle Name Spelling
Per the The Marine Corps history division, her middle name is MAY not Mae. She even signed it that way on her enlistment contract. You can see the photo of the contract at the Marine Corps History Division Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=407005622650159&set=a.367850739898981.107284.365367730147282&type=1&theater — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.21.115.10 (talk) 03:27, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

68.15.135.158 (talk) 13:33, 11 December 2012 (UTC)Kevin Winters

Any one proficient enough to move this page to Opha May Johnson, so it shows up correctly in the category listings?--KMJKWhite (talk) 04:32, 31 December 2014 (UTC)

Photo
Per: http://ia700802.us.archive.org/3/items/WomenMarinesInWorldWarI/Women%20Marines%20In%20World%20War%20I.pdf  picture is available from National Archives (NatArch RG 127G Photo 515829). 68.5.61.251 (talk) 23:29, 30 December 2012 (UTC)Kevin Winters