Dorothy Schmidt Cole, oldest living Marine, dies at age 107
By Staff and Wire Reports
Published
Dorothy Schmidt Cole (USMC)
Beth Kluttz, Cole s only child, confirmed Friday that her mother died of a heart attack at Kluttz s home in Kannapolis, North Carolina, on Jan. 7.
Cole, also affectionately known as Dot, was born on Sept. 19, 1913 in Warren, Pennsylvania. She enlisted to join the Marines in 1941 after the attack on Pearl Harbor, according to the Marine Corps. Everyone was out doing something. Women helping the Red Cross or even in churches, they were knitting things, Cole said. So I decided that I wanted to do something and I would go into the Marine Corps.
A North Carolina woman recognized last year as America s oldest living Marine has died.
Dorothy Schmidt Cole died last week after suffering a heart attack at her daughter’s home in Kannapolis. She was 107.
Cole set out from her home in Warren, Pennsylvania, to join the Navy following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, according to the Charlotte Observer. Her height of 4 feet, 11 inches prevented her from enlisting at the time. This photo provided by Beth Kluttz shows Dorothy Schmidt Cole. Dorothy Schmidt Cole, recognized last year as the oldest living U.S. Marine, has died at age 107. The Marine Times says Dorothy Schmidt Cole died of a heart attack at her daughter s home in Kannapolis on Jan. 7, 2021. (Courtesy of Beth Kluttz via AP)