Peter Cassalia, 89, surgeon and decorated veteran

Peter T. Cassalia, 89, of Huntingdon Valley, an oral surgeon and decorated Korean War veteran who once foiled a bank robbery, died of pneumonia Monday, Oct. 4, at Abington Memorial Hospital.

After Navy service in the United States during World War II, Dr. Cassalia was called back to duty during the Korean War and served with the Marines in a MASH unit. He was awarded a Bronze Star for heroism during the monthlong Battle of Heartbreak Ridge in 1951. Though he rarely spoke about his experiences, his comrades told his family that he had moved nine wounded men to safety under fire and manned a machine gun during an enemy attack. He remained in the Navy Reserve for more than 20 years, retiring as a captain.

In 1969, robbers tied up Dr. Cassalia and other customers at a bank in Huntingdon Valley.

He got free and attacked an armed robber, daughter Barbara said.

After suffering serious neck and spinal injuries in an auto accident in 1992, Dr. Cassalia spent a year recuperating.

"He was a fighter," said another daughter, Carole. "When we were growing up and got hurt or sick, he would tell us, 'Be a soldier.' "

Dr. Cassalia graduated from Olney High School and earned a bachelor's degree from Juniata College. He earned a dental degree from Temple University, and studied oral and maxillofacial surgery at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Medicine. While completing a residency at Pennsylvania Hospital, he met his future wife, Elaine Ganjamie, who was a social worker there.

He had just established a practice on Castor Avenue when the Navy recalled him. He successfully petitioned the city to permit his office sign to remain so his patients would remember him.

When Holy Redeemer Hospital opened in 1959, he was a member of the original staff. He also was affiliated with Nazareth, Northeastern, Jeanes, and Lower Bucks County Hospitals. He retired in the early 1990s.

Dr. Cassalia attended college on a football scholarship and was invited to try out for the Chicago White Sox baseball team. He played touch football with his nephews and neighbors, and kept bats and balls in the trunk of his car for pickup baseball games. He also belonged to many gun clubs.

His wife introduced him to opera, and he grew to love it, she said. The couple enjoyed travel, and vacationed throughout the United States and Europe with their children.

In addition to his wife of 58 years and his daughters, Dr. Cassalia is survived by daughters Diana, Maria, and Tina; a brother; three sisters; and 15 grandchildren. Daughter Laura died in 1975.

A Funeral Mass will be said at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 8, at St. Albert the Great Church, 212 Welsh Rd., Huntingdon Valley, where friends may call after 9:30. Burial will be in Resurrection Cemetery, Bensalem.