Loretta Perfectus Walsh
April 22, 1896–August 6, 1925
Woman and Patriot
First of those enrolled in the United States Naval Service
World War 1917–1919
Her comrades dedicate this monument
to keep alive forever
memories of the sacrifice and devotion of womanhood
Loretta Perfectus Walsh was born in 1896 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In memory of Walsh and her bold actions on March 21, 1917, the official history program of the Department of the Navy, the Naval Historical Center, identifies March 21, 1917 as a date in American naval history.
Walsh fell victim to influenza in the fall of 1918, later contracting tuberculosis
She died on August 6, 1925 at the age of 29 in Olyphant, Pennsylvania. After her death she was buried in Olyphant's St. Patrick's Cemetery, under a monument that reads:
There have been some efforts to document Walsh's story. For Example, in 1982, former U.S. Navy lieutenant, Jean Ebbert and Mary-Beth Hall set out to document the story of Walsh as the first Navy woman to serve outside the nursing profession. The resulting book, Crossed Currents: Navy Women from WWI to Tailhook, was published in December 1994. It was followed by a second book devoted to Navy and Marine Corps women in World War I, The first, the few, the forgotten: Navy and Marine Corps Women in World War I, containing additional information about Walsh.
