Honoring a WWII hero this Veterans Day
Every Veterans Day Kenneth Penrod takes out a box of memorabilia chronicling his father’s 20 plus years in the military that began with WWII. Charles W. Penrod enlisted into the U.S. Army at the age of 18.
In 1945 Staff Sergeant Penrod was wearing the Bronze Star Metal and Purple Heart. With that Bronze Star came the following citation: “Staff Sergeant Charles W. Penrod, 15089063, Company “A”, 27th Armored Infantry Battalion, United States Army, for heroic achievement in connection with military operations against the enemy on March 1, 1945 in the vicinity of Disternich, Germany. When a friendly half-track mired on the top of a barren hill, the enemy immediately subjected it to a withering artillery barrage in an effort to destroy it. Realizing the need of the vehicle for further combat, Staff Sergeant Penrod, with utter disregard for his own safety, immediately made his way to the position. Then working speedily and with the assistance of a comrade, he succeeded in extracting the track from the mud and moving it to a place of safety before the enemy could lay effective fire on the position. Through the daring and heroism of Staff Sergeant Penrod valuable government equipment was saved from certain destruction, reflecting great credit upon himself and the military service.”