Charlotte Louise Berry Winters (November 10, 1897 - March 27, 2007) was, at age 109, the last surviving female American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 veteran of The First World War

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

.

Biography

She was born Charlotte Louise Berry in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 to Mackell and Louise Bild Berry. When the Navy

Navy

A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...

 opened support roles to women, Charlotte and her sister, Sophie, joined in 1917. She served from 1917 to 1919 at the Naval Gun Factory in the Washington Navy Yard

Washington Navy Yard

The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...

 as a clerk. By December 1918, more than 11,000 women had enlisted and were serving in support positions. In 1919, most of the Yeoman (F)

Yeoman (F)

Yeoman was a rank in the U.S. Naval Reserve in World War I. The first Yeoman was Loretta Perfectus Walsh. At the time, the women were popularly referred to as "yeomanettes" or even "yeowomen", although the official designation was Yeoman ....

 were released from the service. At that time she had attained the rank of Yeoman (F) Second Class

Yeoman (F)

Yeoman was a rank in the U.S. Naval Reserve in World War I. The first Yeoman was Loretta Perfectus Walsh. At the time, the women were popularly referred to as "yeomanettes" or even "yeowomen", although the official designation was Yeoman ....

 in the U.S. Naval Reserve

United States Navy Reserve

The United States Navy Reserve, until 2005 known as the United States Naval Reserve, is the Reserve Component of the United States Navy...

. Winters was able to return to the same position as a civil servant. Winters served as a secretary, and retired in 1953.

Winters helped to found the National Yeoman (F) Association

Yeoman (F)

Yeoman was a rank in the U.S. Naval Reserve in World War I. The first Yeoman was Loretta Perfectus Walsh. At the time, the women were popularly referred to as "yeomanettes" or even "yeowomen", although the official designation was Yeoman ....

 in 1926 and served as its eighth commander in 1940 and 1941. She was active in the American Legion for 88 years.

She died, aged 109, in Boonsboro, Maryland

Boonsboro, Maryland

Boonsboro is a town in Washington County, Maryland, United States, located at the foot of South Mountain. It nearly borders Frederick County and is proximate to the Antietam National Battlefield...

 and was buried with full military honors at Mount Olivet Cemetery

Mount Olivet Cemetery (Frederick)

Mount Olivet Cemetery is a cemetery in Frederick City, Maryland. It was chartered on October 4, 1852 to provide several of the downtown churches more room for interments, after their cemeteries became full...

 in Frederick, Maryland

Frederick, Maryland

Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...

. At the time of her death, she was the oldest living World War I veteran in the USA, leaving only two living World War I female veterans left in the world, then-108-year-old Gladys Powers

Gladys Powers

Gladys Stokes Luxford Powers was thought to be, at age 109, the last female veteran of the First World War following the March 27, 2007 death of fellow 109-year-old Charlotte Winters from the US. However the subsequent discovery of fellow Britons Ivy Campany, who died on December 19, 2008, and...

 and 107-year-old Ivy Campany, who served for the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

See also

• Yeoman (F)
  Yeoman (F)
  Yeoman was a rank in the U.S. Naval Reserve in World War I. The first Yeoman was Loretta Perfectus Walsh. At the time, the women were popularly referred to as "yeomanettes" or even "yeowomen", although the official designation was Yeoman ....
  
  
• Women In Military Service For America Memorial
  Women in Military Service for America Memorial
  The Women in Military Service for America Memorial is located at the Ceremonial Entrance to Arlington National Cemetery and honors all women who have served in the United States Armed Forces. New York architects Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, husband and wife, designed the memorial...
  
  
• Veterans of the First World War who died in 2007
• Marie Odee Johnson
  Marie Odee Johnson
  Marie Odee Johnson was an American who was one of the last surviving female veterans from the First World War. As a Yeoman , Johnson was among the first group of women to serve in the United States Navy in a non-nursing capacity...
  
  
• Loretta Perfectus Walsh
  Loretta Perfectus Walsh
  Loretta Perfectus Walsh became the first American active-duty Navy woman, and the first woman allowed to serve as a woman, in any of the United States armed forces other than as a nurse, when she enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve on March 17, 1917...