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105-year-old WWII veteran continues to serve, as volunteer at Delray Medical Center

Posted at 7:24 PM, Nov 12, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-13 04:11:55-05

For many veterans, the desire to serve is forever engrained in their lives, which is especially so for 105-year-old WWII veteran, Charles Carroll.

"I talk about the good things," Carroll said.

Carroll joined the Army during WWII as a military police officer.

"We loaded on liberty ships and sailed on convoy to the Mediterranean," he recalled. "It's a 20-day trip. It was at that time."

He spent time in Algiers picking up prisoners and taking them back on the ship to the U.S.

He then ended up patrolling outside an airport near Naples for months.

Once he came back to the U.S., Carroll chose to extend his time in the military. He served in Frankfurt, Taiwan, among other places, spending a total of 27 years in the service.

"I’m very proud of that," he said. "I’m very proud when people recognize me as a veteran."

Carroll suffered a heart attack 12 years ago and decided at that time, while he was being treated at Delray Medical Center, that he'd serve people again, in a different way.

"I told them then if I ever had the opportunity if I get well enough, I’m going to work at Delray Medical Center," he said. "I'm on my twelfth year right now." 

He has since been a volunteer at Delray Medical Center ever since, even after becoming a centenarian five years ago.

“As long as Becky will open the door for me," Carroll said, referencing the volunteer coordinator and how long he'll keep volunteering.

Army Veteran Amanda Schmidt also works at Delray Medical Center as the imaging manager in the radiology department. She served in Iraq, leaving her young son for a year to fight for freedom.

"It gives you lots of experience and nothing here really frazzles me because it’s nothing compared to what I’ve seen and where I’ve been," Schmidt said.