Hazel Carter (1894–1918) was an American farmer who attempted to disguise herself as a serving soldier.
Early life
Carter was born in 1894 in the Huachuca Mountains outside of Douglas, Arizona Territory. She was known as a skilled hunter and farmer. She married John J. Carter on December 12, 1916.
World War I involvement
When her husband was sent to France on the first American contingent to fight in World War I, she first tried to join the Red Cross in Douglas, but was not accepted. Carter then cut her hair short and stole an Army uniform. She boarded the same train as the one carrying her husband and went undetected for two days when she was forced off the train and told to go back to Douglas. The contingent was five days at sea when her identity was revealed. Upon arrival on the shores of Europe, she was not permitted to disembark from the ship's deck. Carter authored a series of four articles detailing her experience that were serialized nationally by several newspaper companies. It was said by friends that her health declined after her return and they believed she died of a "broken heart." Carter's body was returned to Douglas for burial and she was given a military funeral with a military chaplain and six soldiers as pallbearers. In a newspaper report of the funeral, it was said that Carter's was the first military funeral held in the United States for a woman.