CPT William Geoff Pingley Jr.

William in his 1940 wedding photo

CPT William Geoff Pingley Jr. was born 29 Jan 1916 in Winchester, Virginia. He was the only child of William Geoff and Lucy Dillon (Martin) Pingley. His father worked as a painter. His parents divorced and both had re-married by 1932. William lived with his mother and would graduate from Handley High School in Winchester. By 1940 he was working as a dyer in a local woolen mill and boarding with another family. William married Pauline Hollister Duncan, post mistress of Riverton, Virginia in Front Royal, Virginia on 31 Aug 1940.

William had already begun a military career. He enlisted in Winchester's National Guard infantry unit in July 1933 and served as a PVT there until 11 Feb 1937. He was promoted to SGT then to 2LT on 1 Aug 1939. At that time he was serving in Headquarters and Headquarters Company 3rd Battalion 116th Infantry. He was mobilized with the unit in February 1941 and in May 1941 was promoted to 1LT. He was training with his unit at Fort Meade, Maryland, in the Carolina Maneuvers and at Camp Blanding, Florida. 1LT Pingley sailed aboard the Queen Mary with his unit to England in September 1942. He was in England when William and Pauline had a daughter born in December 1942. 1LT Pingley trained with the 116th for the planned amphibious assault that was to be part of the invasion of occupied France. Promoted to CPT and made commander of K Company 116th Infantry he would have been with his unit near Plymouth, England as they awaited the order for the invasion.

William had been promoted to CPT well before 1 Jun 1944 when he is noted in the morning reports as being on duty as commander of K Company 116th Infantry. K Company landed on Omaha on 6 Jun 1944. While the men were pinned down on the beach CPT Pingley was seen kneeling on the beach, smoking his pipe and calmly evaluating the situation while his First Sergeant tried to get the company organized to move forward and off the beach. Later, on 8 Jun 1944 near Grandcamp-les-Bains, K Company was held up by fire from a machine gun position they could not locate, CPT Pingley reportedly deliberately exposed himself to draw its fire so that it could be located and was shot and killed. It was for this action that he was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star.

CPT Pingley was repatriated in 1947 and re-interred in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

Pauline continued to serve as post mistress in Riverton for many years and never re-married. Their daughter, Dorothy Anne, graduated from the College of William and Mary School of Law in 1964.