Rosemary Mariner standing in front of her A-7 Corsair II, 1976. Mariner was the very first female Naval Aviator, the first to fly a front line attack aircraft, the first to land on an aircraft carrier, first to serve aboard a warship and the first to gain command of an aviation squadron. [619×619]
After the death of her father, who was a WW2 and Korean War attack pilot, Rosemary Mariner decided to follow in his footsteps. She joined the Navy in 1973 with the sole purpose of flying, and she did just that.
Despite the gender barriers, at the age of 21, Mariner became the very first female Naval Aviator, the first to fly a front line attack aircraft, the first to land on an aircraft carrier, the first to serve aboard a warship and the first to gain command of an aviation squadron.
Captain Mariner retired in 1997 after serving for 24 years, flying over 3500 hours in 15 different naval aircraft while on 17 carrier deployments.
She recently passed away on Jan 24, 2019, after a long battle with cancer and her upcoming funeral will have an all-female squadron flying over. It will also be the first all-female fly over in Navy history.
She never considered herself a revolutionary for women, she looked at everyone as people, not genders. She expected everyone to do their jobs and to be treated the same. Her one important approach in life was persistance.
“Life can deal you a lot of curveballs. You hang in there and you don’t quit.” -Capt. Rosemary Mariner
yankeesonlygirl
Thank you for your service Capt. Mariner and for breaking down boundaries for women.
Barton_Foley
After the death of her father, who was a WW2 and Korean War attack pilot, Rosemary Mariner decided to follow in his footsteps. She joined the Navy in 1973 with the sole purpose of flying, and she did just that.
Despite the gender barriers, at the age of 21, Mariner became the very first female Naval Aviator, the first to fly a front line attack aircraft, the first to land on an aircraft carrier, the first to serve aboard a warship and the first to gain command of an aviation squadron.
Captain Mariner retired in 1997 after serving for 24 years, flying over 3500 hours in 15 different naval aircraft while on 17 carrier deployments.
She recently passed away on Jan 24, 2019, after a long battle with cancer and her upcoming funeral will have an all-female squadron flying over. It will also be the first all-female fly over in Navy history.
She never considered herself a revolutionary for women, she looked at everyone as people, not genders. She expected everyone to do their jobs and to be treated the same. Her one important approach in life was persistance.
“Life can deal you a lot of curveballs. You hang in there and you don’t quit.” -Capt. Rosemary Mariner
yankeesonlygirl
Thank you for your service Capt. Mariner and for breaking down boundaries for women.