One year ago: Gertrude Noone

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Gertrude Noone was a 44-year-old insurance policy clerk for Travelers in Hartford, Conn., in 1943 when she enlisted in the Women’s Army Corps.

A year ago, right before she died at age 110, she was the oldest known living military veteran in the world.

Noone rose to the rank of sergeant first class during her service, which began during World War II. She was chief clerk of the large dispensary at Ft. Myer, Va., by the time she left the Army in 1949.

Former Secretary of the Army Pete Geren honored her in March 2009 in recognition of Women’s History Month and the Army’s Year of the Non-Commissioned Officer. He visited her at her Connecticut nursing home and called her ‘a woman who has served with great distinction.’

Noone, born Dec. 30, 1898, in Ansonia, Conn., was one of 10 children in her family. All nine of Noone’s siblings predeceased her. The most recent was her sister Esther Balogh, who served as an Army nurse during World War II and died in 2003 at 103.

For more on the woman who was the oldest known living military veteran, read Gertrude Noone’s obituary by The Times.

--Michael Farr