The Whirlwind of the Waters: Loretta Walsh

Women were seen as caretakers in the United States, limiting their occupational choices to homemaker, nurse, teacher, or any other “caring, feminine” role. This was a societal box that Loretta Walsh, however, broke. Before her, women had only worked with the military in unofficial capacities or as nurses rather than attaining a rank. In 1917, the United States Navy required more personnel, and decreed that any “qualified persons” could enlist. This included women, so Loretta Walsh was sworn in as Chief Yeoman (F), and the first female naval petty officer, on March 21, 1917. She was the first female enlistee to the Naval Reserve. 

Born on April 22, 1896, Loretta Perfectus Walsh was born to Irish immigrants in Olyphant, PA. She attended St. Patrick’s Parochial and High Schools in Olyphant, and she graduated from Lackawanna Business College in Scranton, PA. Afterwards, she worked for the Philadelphia Naval District as a recruitment clerk. She worked for Mrs. Payne, wife of Lieutenant Commander Frederick Payne. He was the executive officer of the Philadelphia Naval Home, and he supervised all naval enlistments in the city. Payne received word that he could enlist one woman as sort of a trial, and he asked Walsh if she would be willing. She agreed, beginning her military career. 

She was the first of 11,000 women to serve during World War I. A few weeks after she was sworn in, the US joined the war on April 6, 1917. She was the first woman to receive a military rank and the same pay and benefits as her male counterparts, as nurses were only considered “civilian employees”, and received low pay and minimal benefits. 

Walsh served her active duty at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, and even volunteered beyond that. She caught the Spanish Flu in 1918 while volunteering at the Philadelphia Naval Home, which led to tuberculosis due to a weakened immune system. Despite this, she continued on with service after Armistice Day (Nov. 11, 1918), and was only released from active duty due to disability in 1919. Her enlistment was four years, so she remained in inactive reserve until her enlistment ended in March of 1921. Walsh was awarded a World War One Victory Medal. 

She married another tuberculosis patient, Frederick Bowman, in June of 1922. Walsh fought her disease for years, succumbing to it at last in 1925. She was buried at St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Olyphant in a tomb that serves as a memorial for female veterans of World War I. This monument still stands today, and Loretta’s name is remembered. She is commemorated by a wreath-laying ceremony every year on the 21st of March by the Navy Department Historical Center. Loretta Perfectus Walsh was the first female veteran, and a war hero. 

“Honoring Veterans: Navy Veteran Loretta Walsh.” VA News, 23 May 2025, news.va.gov/140017/honoring-veterans-navy-loretta-walsh/.

“Walsh-Loretta.” WALSH-LORETTA | The United States Navy Memorial, 6 Aug. 1925, navylog.navymemorial.org/walsh-loretta. 

Chief Yeoman (F) Loretta P. Walsh, 

www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/museums/nmusn/Pamphlets/walsh-loretta-p/NMUSN_C hief%20Yeoman%20Loretta%20Walsh.pdf. Accessed 27 Sept. 2025.