From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (African American Women Veterans in and from Kentucky)
Military Branch
Women's Army Corps
Active Duty Entered
November 18, 1948
Active Duty Exit
October 30, 1951
Notes
Marilyn Leachman was born in Springfield, KY, the daughter of Louise Leachman Wright Rucker. She enlisted in the WAC in 1948. She was one of 62 African American WACs doing basic training at the Women's Army Corp Training Center at Camp Lee, VA. The women were the first company of "Regular" Army Negro WACS at the camp. Marilyn Leachman and Eddie S. Cox from Maysville were the only WACS in the company from Kentucky.
After her military service, Marilyn Leachman returned home. She filed for a divorce from Alonzo Jackson in Louisville, KY in 1951. She was employed in 1956 as an elevator operator at Jefferson Dry Goods there. When she died in Louisville in 1999, she was said to have been a retired nurse. She is buried in Green Meadows Memorial Cemetery in Louisville.
Sources: "62 Women soldiers studying leadership: Regular Army's first race Wacs in training," The Pittsburgh Courier, 12/25/1948, p. 14; U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index (Ancestry); U.S. Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File (Ancestry); Caron's Louisville (Jefferson County, KY.) City Directory, 1956, p. 660; "City and county statistics," The Courier-Journal, 11/21/1951, section 2, p. 16; "Louisville Area Deaths: Marilyn Leachman," The Courier-Journal, 6/16/1999, p. 8; and Marilyn Leachman at Find A Grave.
After her military service, Marilyn Leachman returned home. She filed for a divorce from Alonzo Jackson in Louisville, KY in 1951. She was employed in 1956 as an elevator operator at Jefferson Dry Goods there. When she died in Louisville in 1999, she was said to have been a retired nurse. She is buried in Green Meadows Memorial Cemetery in Louisville.
Sources: "62 Women soldiers studying leadership: Regular Army's first race Wacs in training," The Pittsburgh Courier, 12/25/1948, p. 14; U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index (Ancestry); U.S. Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File (Ancestry); Caron's Louisville (Jefferson County, KY.) City Directory, 1956, p. 660; "City and county statistics," The Courier-Journal, 11/21/1951, section 2, p. 16; "Louisville Area Deaths: Marilyn Leachman," The Courier-Journal, 6/16/1999, p. 8; and Marilyn Leachman at Find A Grave.
Kentucky County & Region
Read about Washington County, Kentucky in Wikipedia.
Read about Jefferson County, Kentucky in Wikipedia.
Kentucky Place (Town or City)
Read about Springfield, Kentucky in Wikipedia.
Read about Louisville, Kentucky in Wikipedia.
Outside Kentucky Place Name
Item Relations
Cited in this Entry
NKAA Source: The Pittsburgh courier (newspaper) |
NKAA Source: Caron's Louisville (Jefferson County, Ky.) city directory (annual) |
NKAA Source: Courier-Journal [Louisville] (newspaper) |
NKAA Source: Ancestry (online) |
Related Entries Citing this Entry
none |
Cite This NKAA Entry:
“Leachman, Marilyn,” Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, accessed December 2, 2023, https://ukscrc001.net/nkaa/items/show/300004570.
Last modified: 2023-05-10 17:49:03