"I had to work very, very hard, and I always said I had to be better than my counterpart. It wasn’t enough to be just as good." (Audio interview, 22:06)

Katharine Lenora Laughton

War: Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Persian Gulf War, 1991 Branch: Navy Service Location: Vietnam; also: Persian Gulf

As a college graduate facing limited employment opportunities, Rear Admiral Katharine Laughton was drawn to what the Navy offered her: equal pay for equal work. Trained in communications, she served in Vietnam as well as stateside in recruitment, which was often a hazardous prospect during an era of frequent anti-war demonstrations. Following her service in Vietnam, she served in high-ranking positions at the Pentagon, for the Navy Inspector General, and in Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf War—eventually becoming one of the first women to be selected as a flag officer.