Family, friends and the United States Marines are mourning the loss of Frances Skina Hoffmann.
The 96 year old veteran of WWII and the Korean War passed away Tuesday at Lambeth House, the senior living facility stricken COVID-19.
Edna Greenbaum, an Uptown resident who lived next door to Hoffmann told WWL-TV: “She was very independent. If she could do it herself, she wasn’t fooling with any resident assistant.”
Hoffmann reportedly joined the Marines in 1943, when the Corps started enlisting women.
She began her time in the Marines working in an aircraft salvage yard, removing parts for reuse on flying aircraft in the war effort.
She was later promoted to assistant aircraft mechanic during the Korean conflict.
In a speech before the National WWII Museum, Hoffmann related how she landed a chance to train in artillery: “With the name of Frances, I could have been a man,” Hoffmann said. “I did not qualify for the Howitzer Battalion. I was only 21 years old but a friendly officer did some finagling and I got to go.”
After the Marines, Hoffmann continued as a lifetime member of the Womens Marines Association and was a charter member of the Molly Marine Chapter LA-1.
She also regularly volunteered at the WWII museum.
It is not known how she contracted the COVID-19 virus, but since her passing her family has yet to lay her to rest since Lambeth House is under quarantine.