Charlotte Winters was the first of her kind, and the last of her kind. Earlier this week, at age 109, 90 years after being in the first group of women to enlist in the Navy, Charlotte passed on with the additional distinction of being the last surviving woman veteran of World War I. But there's more to her story.

She was influential in the decision to allow women to enlist in the Navy in the first place. My husband Doug profiled Charlotte Winters today in his blog, "Dead, Not Forgotten". He relates how in 1916, she met with Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels:

Though Daniels did not say Winters influenced his decision to allow women in the Navy, his niece, Kelly N. Auber of Middle River MD said, “She convinced him that women could be in the Navy, and her visit is corroborated in his journals. While he did not admit that she directly influenced him, he did acknowledge that they had met.”

(Doug's article goes on to say many other wonderful and supportive things honoring Winters and women in the Military. It's steak for dinner tonight!)

http://www.deadnotforgotten.com/blog/?p=60