Rosemary Mariner was one of the first eight women selected for military pilot training in 1973
Mariner graduated from Purdue University with a degree in aeronautics. She was 19 years old.
When she completed training and received her pilot's wings, she was the first woman to ever fly a tactical fixed-wing aircraft.
Although she was an aviator, she was also one of the first women to serve on a Navy warship, the USS Lexington, and earn the Surface Warfare Officer qualification.
She later became the first woman to command a naval aviation squadron.
The A-7 Corsair was an attack aircraft designed to launch and land on aircraft carriers, which entered service during the Vietnam War.
Over her illustrious career, Mariner logged over 3,500 hours in 15 different aircraft.
To honor her legacy, the US Navy announced it will conduct a Missing Man flyover during her funeral.
According to the US Naval Institute, "the maneuver features four aircraft flying above the funeral service in formation as one of the aircraft leaves the formation and climbs vertically into the heavens."
Mariner died after a 5-year battle with ovarian cancer, according to her obituary. She was 65, and is survived by her husband and "wingman" retired Cmdr. Tommy Mariner, and daughter Emmalee, who attends Duke University.