08/28/2026
Annie Neal Graham (later Annie Graham Gilliard) became the first African-American woman to enlist in the United States Marine Corps on September 8, 1949.
Key Details of Her Service
• Enlistment: Enlisted from Detroit, Michigan, shortly after the passage of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948.
• Training: Reported to Parris Island on September 10, 1949, completing boot camp with Platoon 5-A of the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion alongside Ann E. Lamb, who enlisted the day after her.
• Duty Station: Served at Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C., working in the personnel, publications, and special orders departments.
• Service Tenure: Served honorably from 1949 until her discharge in 1952. She passed away in 2002.
Ann E. Lamb (later Ann Lamb Ellis) was the second Black woman to enlist in the United States Marine Corps, joining exactly one day after Annie Graham.
The Lifelong Bond of the First Black Female Marines Because their enlistment dates were so close, their military journeys were completely intertwined: Enlistment: While Annie Graham enlisted in Detroit on September 8, 1949, Ann Lamb enlisted the very next day, September 9, 1949, in New York City.Boot Camp: They both arrived at Parris Island on September 10, 1949.
They trained in the same unit—Platoon 5-A of the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion—becoming lifelong friends.First Assignment: After graduation, both women were stationed together at Marine Corps Headquarters.
Ann Lamb served in the Post Office Supply Office at Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia.Marine Legacy: Ann Lamb later married a fellow Marine—a Montford Point Marine who rose to the rank of Master Gunnery Sergeant—and their son eventually became a Colonel in the Marine Corps.
The historical timeline finalized its first trio of Black female Marines in 1950, when Annie L. Grimes of Chicago enlisted as the third African-American woman in the Corps.
Lamb is on the left and Graham on the right.
