Page 70 - Cityview_Jan_Feb_2014

Story by brooks clark
Photography by tyler oxendine

After fighting in four wars in

33 years as a Marine, Col. (ret.)
ed Penico
never stops moving.

I
n May of 1970, Marine Col. Ed

Penico was in charge of giving
briefings in the Pentagon’s National

Military Command Center to the chair
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other

top generals. “Everybody but the Presi-
dent,” he says.

During the Cambodian Incursion,
Defense Secretary Melvin Laird asked

him how many people we had in
Cambodia. “I said, ‘Roughly 200,000.’

He asked, ‘Can you tell me how many
exactly?’ I explained that there were

people going in and out, and even
some battalion commanders weren’t

supposed to know how many people
they had, and we didn’t want an exact

number to appear in the press that
we really couldn’t back up. So he said,

‘okay. good answer.’”
With just a trace of his South Philly

accent, Penico, 87, takes pleasure in
describing his 33 years in the Marines—

starting as a 16-year-old recruit in 1943
and retiring in 1976—and his varied

work and education in the 37 years
thereafter. And he and his wife, retired

Air Force National guard 1st sergeant
Sharon gottman, still live an energetic

life from their home off Dutchtown
Road in Knoxville. “You’ve got to keep

moving around,” he says, “or you’ll
wither and fade.”

The first thing that strikes you
about Penico is that he does not look

87—or anywhere close. “It’s a three-
part answer,” he says of his healthy

appearance. “First is good genes.” His
grandparents emigrated from Naples,

an area known for longevity. “Second,

68 cityviewmag.com january february 2014