10 Important Women In U.S. Military History

The Baltimore native cemented her place in Corps history in June 2011, when she became the first female commander at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.

Starting in 1943 as a U.S. Navy reservist, Hopper was a mathematical whiz and crack programmer for some of the largest computer projects in U.S. military history. She was promoted to rear admiral in November 1985, making her one of the few women ever to hold that rank.

Well-known for her role in the Underground Railroad, Tubman also served as a cook, nurse and even a spy for the Union during the Civil War. She also helped Col. James Montgomery plan a raid to free slaves from plantations along the Combahee River in the S.C. Lowcountry.

Ott, a flight nurse on the first intercontinental air evacuation flight that demonstrated the potential of air evacuation during World War II.

Johnson joined the Marine Corps Reserve in 1918, officially becoming the first female Marine and doing clerical work in the Corps Reserves during World War I. Before enlisting, Johnson was in the Civil Service, working for the Interstate Commerce Commission.

Walsh was the first American active-duty Navy woman, the first woman to enlist in the Navy, and the first woman allowed to serve in the U.S. military in a capacity other than as a nurse. She enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve on March 17, 1917.

Hobby was the first woman to be awarded the U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal, which she received in 1945. She also was the first secretary of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare; first director of the Women's Army Corps; and a chairperson of the board of the Houston Post.

Cook served as an Army Nurse Corps during WWII and stands as the first woman to receive two awards for her actions during the war: the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

Fought during the Revolutionary War. Though not officially enlisted, she served as a "camp wife," following her husband and cooking and cleaning for soldiers. But when her husband was mortally wounded, Margaret took his place at his cannon, firing until she, too, was seriously wounded. She later became the first woman in U.S. history to receive a pension from the U.S. Congress for military service.

Walker volunteered with the Union Army at the outbreak of the Civil War and served as a surgeon at a temporary hospital inside the capitol. At one point, she was taken as a prisoner of war. After the fighting, she became the only woman one of only eight civilians to receive the Medal of Honor.