Frances Wills and Harriet Pickens became the first female African-American U.S. Navy officers.
On December 21, 1944 Frances Wills and Harriet Pickens were commissioned as officers in the United States Navy and became the the first African-American women ever to receive such commissions.Commissioned as WAVES officers. they were the first female African-American U.S. Navy officers.
- “First BlackFemale Naval Officers: Frances Wills, Harriet Pickens”| Owlcation: https://owlcation.com/humanities/First-Black-Female-Naval-Officers-Frances-Wills-Harriet-Pickens
- Frances E. Willis Thorpe | Veterans History Project | Library of Congress: https://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp-stories/loc.natlib.afc2001001.37683/
- “Courage in Adversity: Harriet Pickens & Frances Wills | Women Offshore: https://womenoffshore.org/courage-in-adversity-harriet-pickens-frances-wills/
- “The Golden Fourteen, Plus” | Navy: Lest We Forget: http://lestweforget.hamptonu.edu/page.cfm?uuid=9FEC3F39-A1CB-50EA-40E8D72CC8BED35F
- “Navy Commissions First African AmericanWomen Officers” | The Sextant: http://usnhistory.navylive.dodlive.mil/2016/10/19/navy-commissions-first-african-american-woman-officers/
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