Rash's Surname Index
Notes for Caspar Wistar Aldrich PENNOCK
Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA) - March 26, 1983
Deceased Name: CASPAR PENNOCK, 66
Caspar Wistar Aldrich Pennock, 66, retired publisher's representative for Time Inc., died Thursday at the Medical Center of Princeton, N.J. Formerly of Chestnut Hill, he lived in Princeton Township.
He joined Time-Life in 1946, shortly after returning from service in World War II with decorations that included the Croix de Guerre, the Silver and the Bronze stars. He worked for the publishing firm for 30 years, retiring in 1976.
Born in Lansdowne, he was the son of J. Liddon Pennock, a socially prominent florist. He was educated at the Haverford School and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
He was a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard with the rank of lieutenant and was called to active duty in 1940. Commanding an artillery battery, he went into Normandy with the 28th Division in 1944. A month later he won his Silver Star for blasting through the defenses and then spearheading a drive that carried the division through the town of Percy, France. In mid-December, Capt. Pennock began to earn his other medals as cooks and bakers, typists and quartermasters were pressed into battle to stem the tide of an all-out German attack led by Panzer units.
Gen. Gerd von Rundstedt hurled his armor directly into the 28th. It started in Marnach when a radio man reported he was surrounded by hundreds of Germans. He was asked how close they were.
"Close enough to touch," he whispered, moments before 14 of 20 American tanks were blown off the road in the first round of firing.
With orders to hold the ground, the artillerymen stood and fired, lowering the guns as von Rundstedt's men and armor drove deeper into the American lines. On the third day, Battery C was exchanging fire with Tiger tanks mounting 88mm guns at distances that ranged from 50 to 200 yards. "We were really firing at the whites of their eyes," Capt. Pennock said. ''We stacked up the dead in little piles all over the place."
They fired the regular ammunition first, then the anti-tank shells. When those were gone, they fired leaflet-filled propaganda shells at the troops and tanks. And when those were gone, they fell back. But not far.
Some made it into Bastogne, others headed for Sibret and Capt. Pennock and his men managed to stay somewhere in between, when they could until finally, the German tanks and Nazi troops had to pull back from one of the bloodiest battles of modern warfare.
When Mr. Pennock returned from the war, he joined the Merion Cricket Club, the Huntingdon Valley Hunt Club and the Bedens Brook Country Club.
Surviving are his wife, Gabriella Davis Pennock, and a son, Christopher.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Princeton University Chapel.
Copyright (c) 1983 The Philadelphia Inquirer
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