100 years young: Hoschton man, World War II veteran turns 100

Stringer, who lives just outside Hoschton, celebrated the milestone birthday on Aug. 1. The Tennessee native is a decorated World War II veteran who worked well past retirement age and lived on his own — even driving a car – until last year when he survived a staph infection.

“He’s a fighter,” said his daughter Diane Knopick, who along with her husband are Stringer’s main caregivers. “He’s always been a hard worker.”

D.C. (Dorris Charles) Stringer was born Aug. 1, 1922 in Gorman, Tennessee and was raised on a farm about 45 miles from Nashville. He recalled his rural childhood.

“It was good, but plowing with a mule wasn’t too good,” he said.

Stringer came of age during lean times in the 1930s during the Great Depression when jobs were scarce and offered penny wages.

“It was rough — Hoover days,” Stringer said. “If you got a job (you were paid) 15 to 20 cents an hour, and you’d go to the grocery store and spend four dollars.”

Stringer was 19 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, thrusting the U.S. into World War II. Stringer enlisted in the U.S. Army in April 1942 and saw extensive combat — earning multiple medals — while serving in an anti-aircraft gun battalion in the European and North African theaters. His service included campaigns in Italy, the invasion of southern France and the Battle of the Bulge. His experiences in Anzio, Italy stood out particularly.

“We all got an air raid every night,” he said. “They would bomb us, bomb us, bomb us, shoot us.”

Stringer was in Hamburg, Germany when World War II ended and was later discharged from the service at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. He and his wife, Sara, wed in December of 1946 and were married for 71 years until her passing five years ago. The couple had four daughters.

After the war, Stringer worked 24 years at Kraft Foods — operating a mayonnaise line and driving an 18-wheeler — and spent 30 years as a carpenter.

“I’ve been around,” he said.

His carpentry work included framing and remodeling, but doing trim “was my bread and butter.” Stringer, who moved to Hoschton 20 years ago, installed all the trim work in his house at age 78. He didn’t really retire until his early 80s when he began taking care of his wife.

Stringer reaching 100 is all the more amazing considering a near-death experience last year during his battle with staph infection.

“I had a rough year last year — rough,” he said.

Knopick said her father coded three times the night he was rushed to the hospital. She said he couldn’t be taken to an operating room for a pacemaker implant, so a temporary pacemaker had to be implanted in the emergency room. Knopick remembered a doctor sharing a grim prognosis with her.

“And I said, ‘You don’t know my dad.’ You do what you have to, and that’s what they did,” Knopick said.

Knopick said every time her father returns to his cardiologist for a check-up he’s regarded as “a miracle.”

These days, Stringer keeps himself busy watching The Price is Right, Let’s Make A Deal, Family Feud, NASCAR, University of Georgia football and the Atlanta Braves, whom he follows closely. He has six grandchildren, “a bunch” of great-grandchildren and even a great-great grandson.

Stringer notes that he “eats very good,” praising Knopick’s culinary skills.

“I’d say she’s about the best cook in Georgia,” he said.

Asked about the biggest change he’s seen in a century, he points to a much better quality of life.

“The living is better, you can make more money – it’s a better living,” Stringer said.

As he celebrates 100 years, Stringer offers his advice for a long, healthy life.

“Don’t smoke, don’t drink, work hard, go to church and just love everybody,” he said. “I tell you, it’s the best way to live.”