Photo By Abigail Chipps | Frank Cohn, left, poses for a photo during World War II. (Photo courtesy of Frank Cohn)... read more read more
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WASHINGTON - Retired U.S. Army Col. Frank Cohn’s life has been full of important milestones, but few as significant as his 100th birthday earlier this month. Centenarians currently make up roughly 0.03% of the U.S. population, meaning Cohn has reached a milestone few people ever will.
Another unique milestone for Cohn was when he retired as chief of staff at the U.S. Army Military District of Washington (MDW) in 1978, marking the end of an unlikely U.S. military career for someone who fled Nazi Germany as a child.
Now, he reflects on his 100 years of life that were shaped by war, resilience and his military service.
Early life in Nazi Germany
Cohn was born in Breslau, Germany, or what is now Wrocław, Poland, in 1925. Growing up Jewish meant every aspect of his life was affected by Hitler’s rise to power.
Going into third grade, Cohn was excited that his second grade teacher, Mr. Schumann, would remain his teacher the next year.
“And I loved Mr. Schumann!” Cohn wrote in his autobiography. “But to my horror, when Mr. Schumann entered [the third-grade classroom], he was wearing the Nazi (SA) uniform with swastika armband and the NSDAP [National Socialist German Workers’ Party] pin.”
Classmates sang Hitler Youth songs while he sat at his desk at school. His parents’ family friend, Michaelis, was mysteriously killed under suspicious circumstances, Cohn explained in his autobiography, noting a fall from a four-story window after being arrested by the Gestapo. Cohn also recalls his uncle, Max, was killed in the streets of Chemnitz, Germany, when someone identified him as Jewish.
“It was an early lesson for me, and it stuck in my mind: Nazis were people who killed Jews,” Cohn said. “I was a Jew, and I had to fear Nazis.”
When Cohn was 13 years old, his father, Martin, traveled to the United States in search of relatives who could offer him an affidavit to facilitate the family’s immigration to America. While Martin was in America, two Gestapo agents came to the Cohn family’s home, looking for Frank’s father.
Cohn recalls the Gestapo agent saying as soon as his father returned, he needed to report to their headquarters.
That was all Frank and his mother, Ruth, needed to hear to make their decision to leave their home for good, bribing a clerk to add his name to a visitor visa Ruth obtained.
He and his mother found their way to New York City and reunited with his father in October 1938. Only 10 days later, Nazis began attacking Jewish people at their homes, places of work and synagogues, killing 91 people, burning 900 synagogues, destroying 7,000 businesses and sending 30,000 Jewish men to concentration camps. This would later become known as “Kristallnacht,” or “the night of broken glass.”
Reflecting on that time, Cohn said he would remind his younger self that goals are important, “but that life sometimes takes unexpected turns and you have to remain flexible and adapt.”
Answering the call to serve
Flexibility and adaptability remained key for Cohn, who was drafted into the Army at age 18 before he even gained U.S. citizenship. He officially became an American during basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia.
"Now I officially had a new country, I was a U.S. citizen!” he wrote in his autobiography. “While no one really congratulated me, I did that to myself – it made me feel proud.”
Soon after, Cohn returned to Germany as an American Soldier working in the intelligence field, ready to put his German language skills to use.
During the war, Cohn served in several capacities, including guarding roads used by American troops and finding Germans in disguise trying to sneak behind U.S. lines. His fluency in German came in handy when interrogating Nazi prisoners.
“Returning to Germany, as part of the U.S. Army, felt good,” Cohn said. “I was now no longer a victim.”
Continuing to serve
Returning from World War II, Cohn earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology and education and was commissioned as an officer.
“At that time, intelligence was only a reserve branch and thus I chose the military police,” Cohn said.
As an MP, Cohn had no shortage of adventure. He dealt with issues of identity fraud, vehicle registration, drug-smuggling, bank robbery and murder.
He continued his Army career, traveling all over the world with his wife, Paula, and later their daughter, Laura. His service even brought him to Vietnam in 1969.
His final assignments included serving in several capacities at MDW, including as provost marshal, assistant chief of staff for police, security and intelligence, or ACSPSI, and finally as chief of staff.
“MDW was always busy in those days to worry about the change of presidency from one to another, as it had requirements during the transition,” Cohn said. “Somehow, I felt at home in MDW while everything else felt temporary.”
The high point of his time as ACSPSI at MDW was his assignment to the 48th Presidential Inauguration, where he coordinated security measures with the Washington, D.C., Metro Police and the U.S. Secret Service.
“Everything went well, even when the newly inaugurated President Carter unexpectedly exited his vehicle and started walking down Pennsylvania Avenue, although every security element held their breath,” Cohn said.
In 1978, after 35 years of service to the U.S. Army, Cohn retired as a colonel.
Celebrating Cohn today
Even today, Cohn’s impact continues to be felt throughout the MDW and MP communities.
Col. Mark Danner, MDW’s current provost marshal, first heard of Cohn through news reports, historical records and Army publications detailing his distinguished service.
“What strikes me most is the sheer extensiveness of history Col. Cohn has lived through,” Danner said. “A 100-year-old veteran represents a direct link to a century of change, conflict and progress.”
While much has changed in the nearly 47 years since Cohn’s military retirement, the mission of Joint Task Force-National Capital Region and U.S. Army Military District of Washington’s Provost Marshal Office, or PMO, remains largely the same – delivering cutting edge capabilities to support the defense of the National Capital Region.
Danner would like Cohn to know that today’s JTF-NCR and USAMDW PMO builds directly upon the foundations laid by generations of Soldiers like Cohn.
“The MDW PMO, and indeed all Army PMOs, represent a continuous chain of innovation and dedication,” Danner said. “Each generation builds upon successes and learns from those who came before.”
Frank celebrated his 100th birthday surrounded by family, friends and current JTF-NCR and USAMDW staff, including Danner.
Danner presented Cohn with a U.S. flag and certificate on behalf of JTF-NCR and USAMDW.
“Veterans embody the values we strive to uphold as an institution,” Danner said. “Their sacrifices, their experiences and their perspectives are invaluable resources. By honoring them, we reinforce those values, inspire current and future generations of Soldiers and maintain a vital connection to our history.”
Cohn, too, reflecting on his own upbringing, said it was the values and inspiration of those before him – specifically his parents – that helped him develop the drive to serve and strong character to lead, ultimately becoming the example he sought to emulate.
“Mentally, the ideas taught to you by your parents stay with you for life: To do the proper and right thing, to be honest and faithful – your character does not change.”
| Date Taken: | 08.06.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.06.2025 17:05 |
| Story ID: | 544928 |
| Location: | WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, US |
| Web Views: | 58 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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