Pioneer of female politicians who served during World War II as a captain in the Women's Army Corps and engaged women in the Democratic party.
She attended Louisiana State University and Tulane, then went into teaching and establishing the first soup kitchen in Baton Rouge.
She joined the WACs to become a recruiter for the service, at one point getting 300 women to sign up in a single event.
She came from a family known for their outspoken ways, with her father losing his job over a dispute with Governor Huey P. Long.
Jacqueline Cochran, the famed aviatrix, also came up through the Women's Army Corps.
