Mae, Johnson spelled her middle name May on her enlistment form. The second fallacy typically published is her age when she enlisted. Although many report her birth year as 1900, placing her in her late teens at the time of her enlistment, she is known to have been 39 at enlistment. A third error involves her official photograph. Another well known photograph of three female Marine PFCs (Mary Kelly, May O'Keefe, and Ruth Spike) in 1918, was cropped to show just the center figure and published correctly as being May O'Keefe. At a later date, that cropped picture was erroneously attributed as being Johnson and subsequently used by otherwise reliable sources. Death and burial Johnson died on August 11, 1955, at Mount Alto Veterans Hospital in Washington, D.C. Services were held at Warner E. Pumphrey Funeral Home on Saturday, August 13, 1955, 37 years to the day from when she stood first in the line of women answering the call to become a U.S. Marine. Buried near her husband and parents in Rock Creek Cemetery, her grave was unmarked. In late 2017 the Women Marines Association began raising funds to place a marker at her burial site. On August 29, 2018, she received a grave marker which celebrated 100 years of women in the marines. Commemoration In late 2017 the Women Marines Association began raising funds to place a marker at Johnson’s burial site. On August 29, 2018, she received a grave marker which celebrated 100 years of women in the marines. The Marine training center at Grissom Air Reserve Base was renamed the Sergeant Opha May Johnson Marine Reserve Center on November 10, 2022, which was the 247th anniversary of the founding of the Marine Corps. The next day, a monument honoring Johnson was unveiled in Kokomo, Indiana. References 1878 births 1955 deaths People from Kokomo, Indiana United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I American women in World War I United States Marine Corps reservists Female United States Marine Corps personnel United States Marine Corps non-commissioned officers Military personnel from Indiana