Fort George G. Meade: The First 100 Years

NAMESAKE: William Clifford Rock
WORLD WAR I YEARS
73
William Clifford Rock was born in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. in 1893, and graduated from Philadelphia’s
Central Manual Training High School in 1912. He then
attended Penn State, where he wrestled and served
as secretary-treasurer of the Motive Power Club, an
organization of railway engineering enthusiasts. In 1916
he secured a mechanical engineering degree. Soon after
graduation he went to work as an engineer at Westinghouse
Electric in East Pittsburgh, a manufacturer of mechanical
stoking equipment for Pennsylvania’s ubiquitous steel
plants.
After the U.S. entered WWI, "Rocky" joined the Officer
Reserve Corps and was sent to Camp Lee, Virginia in
Jan., 1918. He soon volunteered for tank service and
was transferred to Camp Meade in early March, having
been assigned to Company A, 65th Engineers (later
301st Tank Battalion), then commanded by Capt. Dwight
Eisenhower. Just before sailing for France, Rock was
engaged to a Pennsylvania girl.
When the 301st entered combat in Sept. 1918 as part
of the British Fourth Tank Brigade, 2nd Lt. Rock helped
operate the unit’s Mark V tanks. After the Allied victory
at the Second Battle of Cambrai (Oct. 8) he wrote his
mother that it had “been a wonderful day for us and the
world,” but regretted not having sent a birthday present
to her. “We may get a rest soon,” he continued, “and I
will be able to write at greater length.” He never had that
chance.
On Oct. 17, while attempting to cross the Selle River
as part of another major British offensive, Rock’s tank
compass failed and he became lost until an infantry officer
met him outside the village of Molain. After clearing
Germans from the village, Rock directed his tank across
the Selle. Near the top of the slope on the east bank, the
tank stuck fast in a shell hole and German shells rained in.
Forced to evacuate the crippled machine, Rock was killed
while attempting to silence a nearby enemy machine gun
with his pistol.
Today "Rocky" remains at rest in Suresnes American
Cemetery on the slopes of Mount Valerian in Paris. In
1924, his mother Charlotte was elected president of
By Patrick Osborn
the Women’s Auxiliary of the Army and Navy Legion
of Valor. In that capacity, she traveled to Europe in
1930 to place wreaths at the tombs of the unknowns in
Paris, Brussels and London. She also served on the jury
that chose the design of the Tomb of the Unknowns’
superstructure in Arlington National Cemetery. Assembly
of the superstructure began in Sept. 1931, the same
month that Fort Meade’s Rock Avenue–which now runs
between 1st Street and Zimborski Avenue–was named in
her son’s honor.
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(Left) Rock Avenue 1945.
(Below) Road marker for Rock Avenue.