Yeoman ( F ) Yeoman ( F ) was a rank in the U . S . Naval Reserve in World War I . The first Yeoman ( F ) was Loretta Perfectus Walsh . At the time , the women were popularly referred to as " yeomanettes " or even " yeowomen " , although the official designation was Yeoman ( F ) . In March 1917 , Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels realized that the Naval Reserve Act of 1916 used the word " yeoman " instead of " man " or " male " , and allowed for the induction of " all persons who may be capable of performing special useful service for coastal defense . " He began enlisting females as Yeoman ( F ) , and in less than a month the Navy officially swore in the first female sailor in U . S . history . Typically , female Yeoman reservists performed clerical duties such as typing , stenography , bookkeeping , accounting , inventory control , and telephone operation . A few became radio operators , electricians , draftsmen , pharmacists , photographers , telegraphers , fingerprint experts , chemists , torpedo assemblers and camouflage designers . Female Yeomen did not attend boot camp . A large number were stationed in Washington , D . C . , while others served in naval stations , hospitals , shipyards and munitions factories around the country . Many recruiting stations employed the women who volunteered there as very effective recruiters , and as many as forty women served in England , France , Puerto Rico , the Virgin Islands , the Canal Zone , Guam , and the Territory of Hawaii . Without new technologies , the Navy would never have had enough jobs to employ 11 , 274 female Yeomen . Also , having women in uniform was a positive image for the Navy to project . As well as their many military duties , the women were taught to march and drill at public rallies , recruiting campaigns , war bond drives , and troop send - offs . The military ' s first enlisted women . Women had served in the United States military before . In 1901 a female Nurse Corps was established in the Army Medical Department , and in 1907 a Navy Nurse Corps was established . However , despite their uniform s the nurses were civilian employees with few benefits . They slowly gained additional privileges , including " relative rank s " and insignia in 1920 , a retirement pension in 1926 , and a disability pension if injured in the line of duty in 1926 . Edith Nourse Rogers , one of the first women to serve in Congress , voted to support the pensions . The first American women enlisted into the regular armed forces were 13 , 000 women admitted into active duty in the Navy and Marine s during World War I , and a much smaller number admitted into the Coast Guard . The Yeoman ( F ) recruits and women Marines primarily served in clerical positions . They received the same benefits and responsibilities as men , including identical pay ( US $ 28 . 75 per month ) , and were treated as veterans after the war . These women were quickly demobilized when hostilities ceased , and aside from the Nurse Corps the soldiery became once again exclusively male . Uniforms . Two uniforms were prescribed for women in the USNRF . A winter uniform of navy blue serge alternated with a summer uniform of white drill . Both consisted of a single - breasted Norfolk style coat with gilt buttons and a rating badge on the left sleeve , worn over a skirt of the same fabric and shirt waist . The coat had patch pockets on each hip and a belt . The skirt was hemmed to four inches above the ankle , and the shirt waist was designed to be worn either open at the neck or buttoned . Hats were to be flat - brimmed sailor hats of navy blue felt or straw . Shoes , hose , gloves and a standard Navy neckerchief completed the outfit . Capes were also prescribed for cold weather . Post - WWI . Initially offered general discharge s , the women veterans successfully lobbied for honorable discharge s in recognition of their service . Many continued in government service as civilians . Women veterans joined the newly created American Legion in large numbers , forming posts that were all female or overwhelmingly female in larger cities or joining " mixed " units in other areas . The National Yeoman ( F ) Association began in 1926 and was chartered in 1936 under Title 36 of the United States Code with Public Law 676 - 74 .