David E. Pergrin, 94, a decorated WW2 officer

DAVID E. PERGRIN was the kind of guy who usually walked out of parties with the door prize.

His wayward golf shot would bounce off a tree and back onto the fairway.

"Don't play cards with my dad," said his son, David E. Jr. "He always got the good cards."

David E. Pergrin, a decorated World War II combat-engineer officer who led his battalion in some of the war's most perilous operations, then returned to civilian life to apply his intensity and luck to a wide variety of activities, died April 7 at age 94. He had lived in Wallingford, Delaware County, for 20 years before moving to Shrewsbury, York County.

He became a railroad executive after the war, and his restless spirit ranged over interests that included wood-carving; the Boy Scouts; anything to do with his alma mater, Penn State; even doing magic tricks for hospital patients.

"He was passionate about everything he did," his son said. "His passion was infectious; it drew people to him. It was a gift he had."

This quality was no doubt part of the reason that David Pergrin was picked to command the 291st Engineer Combat Battalion in August 1943, when he was 25. He advanced to the rank of colonel.

The battalion's exploits, including those at the Battle of the Bulge, have been featured on History Channel specials, and written about in four books, two of which he wrote.

David was awarded a Silver Star and Bronze Star for valor, and the Purple Heart for wounds. From the French and Belgian governments, he received the Croix de Guerre.

The 291st became the most-decorated engineering battalion in World War II. Its exploits included building the first Allied bridge over the Rhine into Germany, the longest bridge ever built under combat conditions, which meant continuous shelling from the bluffs on the other side. It was completed in 36 hours.

The deed was recounted in the documentary "The Damned Engineers: The Bridge at Remagen."

The battalion disabled mines across France and Belgium; rescued survivors of the Malmedy massacre, in which German troops slaughtered American prisoners of war during the Battle of the Bulge; and helped to thwart the German army's last offensive of the war.

Other documentaries about the unit included "Our Century: The Malmedy Massacre," and "Unsung Heroes of WW II."

Books included the colonel's own First Across the Rhine and Engineering the Victory.

"I think writing those books was a good catharsis for him," his son said. "It helped him deal with the atrocities he saw."

After the war, David went to work for the Pennsylvania Railroad and later the Penn Central. He retired as vice president and chief engineer. In 1978, the secretary of transportation appointed him an adviser to the Federal Rail Administration.

David was a serious wood-carver. He wrote three books on the subject and helped establish the annual William Rush Woodcarving Show at the Penn State Brandywine campus in Lima, Delaware County.

He got a kick out of carving Nittany lions, the Penn State symbol, and giving them as gifts. As president of the Class of 1940, he was instrumental in the selection of the Nittany Lion as the class gift.

Besides the Boy Scouts, David was an active member and volunteer at St. John Chrysostom Church in Wallingford, and the Crozer Hospice in Chester.

David was born in Elizabeth, Pa., to David John and Lida Ann Rigby Pergrin. He graduated with honors from Clairton High School and won a football scholarship to Penn State. His college and football careers were delayed by a fractured collarbone, but he eventually got his engineering degree.

He married Margaret Mary Cimahosky on Sept. 19, 1941, at Fort Belvoir, Va.

Besides his wife, son and daughter, Janeen Rastall, he is survived by three other daughters, Bernadette Marriott, Patricia Brown and Meg Bohn; 12 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Services: Funeral Liturgy noon Saturday at St. John the Baptist Church, 3415 N. Constitution Ave., New Freedom, Pa. A viewing will begin at 6 p.m. Friday with a Vigil Service at 7:30 p.m. at the J.J. Hartenstein Mortuary, 24 N. Second St., New Freedom.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the David E. and Margaret M. Pergrin Scholarship, Office of Development, Penn State Brandywine, 25 Yearsley Mill Rd., Media, Pa., 19063.