David J. DeJonge Former Yeoman (F) Charlotte Winters in 2006. One of the first women ever to join the Navy, she served at the Washington Navy Yard during WW I and was a founding member of the Jacob Jones American Legion Post 2 in Washington, D.C.

Charlotte Louise Berry Winters knew that women could help the Navy fight the war, and determined that she would do just that. Born in 1897 in Washington, D.C., she was so convinced that women could help the Navy and the country that she met with then-Secretary of the Navy, Josephus Daniels, to plead her case. She told Daniels that women would be great for support of the war in roles such as supply clerks, secretaries, uniform seamstresses, etc. Family records indicate that Winters’ family enjoyed the friendship of the Roosevelts. Franklin D. Roosevelt was then Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy.

‘‘Charlotte was friends and babysat for Franklin Roosevelt’s kids,” said Kelly Auber, Winters’ great niece. It was discovered later on that Charlotte’s relationship with the Roosevelts opened the door for her interview with Daniels.

Shortly after their meeting, in 1917, Daniels noticed that the Naval Appropriations Act of 1916 did not specifically exclude women from Naval Service. In turn, Daniels directed that women be allowed to enlist in the Navy as yeoman. The letter ‘‘F” would be added to distinguish females from their male counterparts. Almost 11,000 females joined. Winters and her sister Sophie stood among the first in line.

‘‘She wanted to serve her country,” Auber said. ‘‘She always had a thing for the Navy.”

Winters was assigned to the Naval Gun Factory on the Washington Navy Yard, in Washington, D.C. There she worked in the factory’s planning and estimating force in building 57. Winters was able to live at her parent’s home during her service, Auber said. ‘‘She was fortunate that she did not have to live in a boarding house or another situation with a family other then her own.”

All Yeomen (F) were released from active duty July 31, 1919, at the end of the ‘‘Great War.” The women that had enlisted in the Navy during WWI were the first to be recognized as Navy veterans. Her greatest accomplishment was being in the Navy, Auber said, ‘‘Charlotte was very proud of her service.”

Winters returned to the same position at the Naval Gun Factory as a civil servant. She considered her work for the Navy, even while she was no longer enlisted, to be Naval Service, said Jennifer Maryland, assistant curator for the Navy museum. Winters even altered her uniform, by raising the hemline, so that she could wear it while she was a civil servant. She was an employee at the Navy Yard until her retirement on March 31, 1953.

Prior to the discharge of the Yeomen (F) in 1919, Winters along with some of her fellow enlisted female friends started an organization known then as the ‘‘Friends of Betsy Ross.” This organization was intended to be for the discharged women of WWI, but Winters heard that men from WWI were starting their own organization as well. The Friends of Betsy Ross already had a charter format, a constitution, bylaws, and a membership form.

‘‘And there was at least one smart man there that recognized that these ladies’ organizational skills could really help them, and encouraged their participation and cooperation in the American Legion,” Auber said.

Before congress could charter the organization, the groups’ names had to be of military origin. The first post of the American Legion, which was for male service members, was named the ‘‘George Washington” post. The second post, which consisted of Winters and her female friends, was originally the ‘‘Betsy Ross” post and, later, Jacob Jones American Legion post #2.

Winters was the last surviving founder of the organization. ‘‘She was a member for 88 years,” Auber said, ‘‘she was paid up for life, which means she made a major contribution to the American Legion.”

Another association that Winters helped to found was the National Yeoman (F), an organization solely for the discharged yeoman. It was created in 1926, and charter approved on June 15, 1936. Winters held a number of positions including as its eighth commander for the 1940-1941 term, secretary and editor for their newsletter The Note Book.

Twenty-five years after the first Yeoman (F) enlisted in the Navy, Daniels recalled his decision to allow women to enlist in the Navy in the newsletter. He said that women saved the day for the Navy in WWI, and he was sure that they would do it again. ‘‘Women are more daring than men,” he was quoted. ‘‘They will observe the high traditions of the Navy, but will not hesitate to make new traditions,” he added.

On March 27, 2007, Winters passed away at the age of 109. She was the last surviving female veteran of WWI. She received full military honors from the U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard and she was laid to rest in Frederick, Md.

Adm. Mike Mullen, then Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), eulogized Winters by speaking of the call to the nation that she and her shipmates answered.

‘‘Ms. Winters was a trailblazer, one of a relatively small group of women to serve in our Navy during World War I. She did so honorably and nobly, helping through that service to bring freedom to millions of people all across Europe and hope to thousands of young women all across America.”

Winters and her fellow Yeomen (F) helped pave the way for the full acceptance of women into the Navy. The integral role of today’s female Sailors owes much to the bold steps taken those 90 years ago.