Top Gun Trainee Becomes First Active Duty Officer Crowned Miss America

U.S. Air Force/Twitter/Miss America/Instagram

History was made during Sunday night’s Miss America pageant in Orlando, Florida, when Madison Marsh became the first-ever active duty military officer to win the crown.

Miss Colorado, Madison Marsh, was name Miss America 2024. An officer in the U.S. Air Force, March is now the first active duty service member to earn the honor of wearing the crown.

“I’m very excited to get to represent women who can break stereotypes,” Marsh said in a pageant interview.

Marsh beat 50 other women in the competition that had representatives from every state “showing their skills in a fitness runway walk, a ‘hot topics’ discussion, a talent show, and an evening gown presentation,” according to PEOPLE magazine.

The 22-year-old is a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force who graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado with a degree in physics with a focus on astronomy. She is currently the only female fighter pilot in her squadron, according to KOAA, and is in training to become a Top Gun pilot.

Marsh also founded the Whitney Marsh Foundation which honors her late mother who died in 2018 from pancreatic cancer.

“My mom was a huge runner, even when she was going through chemotherapy treatments,” Marsh said. “When we talked about ways to raise money, we wanted it to remember who my mom was and not what cancer had made her. So we started the Whitney Marsh Foundation and specifically hosted a 5K and 10K run every year based out of our hometown in Fort Smith, Arkansas.”

The U.S. Air Force congratulated Madison on her Miss America Win with social media posts that read, “Congratulations to our very own #Airman, 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh, aka Miss Colorado — who was just crowned @MissAmerica 2024! Marsh is the first active duty servicemember to ever win the title.”