Actually, I believe she isn't the first female to receive the award. "A 96-year-old female WWII veteran who helped plan the D-Day landings has today become the first woman to be awarded the Legion d'Honneur by the French ambassador. Marsie Taylor, from London, was given France's highest distinction at a ceremony with 18 other war heroes at the French Ambassador's Residence in the capital. She was working 'extraordinary hours' when doing all of the initial typing and working on the orders for Operation Overlord, which was the code name for the Battle of Normandy. Her work was top secret and it was such an intense task because Mrs Taylor - who was working with two other Wren writers - had to type out orders for the Navy, Army and the Air Force. She described her time helping plan the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944 as 'hard work' because the forces were 'always having to change things'. Mrs Taylor originally worked as a Wren writer at Norfolk House in central London and then at Southwick House in Portsmouth, Hampshire." http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3612960/Former-Navy-rating-96-helped-plan-D-Day-landings-woman-Legion-d-Honneur-French-ambassador.html#ixzz49uivHKVJ
