Art Perry, now 101 years old, could not have lived a more diverse life in the U.S. military than during his 32 years of service to the country.
Born in Detroit, MI, in June 1921, Perry was the son of Robert and Elizabeth Perry. He was the older of two other brothers, and he had an older sister.
Soon after graduating from Cooley High School in June 1939, he started a full-time job as a pattern maker for the Ford Motor Co.
With some money in their pockets, Perry and his friend, Ed Shaw, decided to take a brief vacation out West in the summer of 1942. On their way back to Detroit, Perry decided to enlist in the U.S. Navy on Aug. 31, 1942.
After basic training in Chicago, Perry was sent to Dunkeswell Navy Airfield near Taunton, England, in early 1943 to work as an aviation machinist’s mate in the 479th Anti-Submarine Group for maintenance on B-24 Liberator bombers.
With the allied air forces controlling the air over western Europe, the B-24s’ main mission was to attack German submarines for operating out of pens on the French coast into the Bay of Biscay.
Perry returned to Salina, KS, in early 1945 and was discharged from the Navy in December 1945. He re-enlisted for another three years and was discharged in November 1949.
Having an obvious liking for military service and with the Korean War in the offing, Perry jumped to the newly formed U.S. Air Force and served three Air Force assignments, including Korea, over the next 13 years as a tech sergeant and aviation machinist.
He retired from military service after 32 years in 1974, including 10 additional years in the retired reserve.
After his Korean War service, he married Geraldine McDonald of Dunreith, IN, in June 1953.
They had three children, twins Doug and Steve, now of Miami, FL, and Nancy of Sherman Oaks, CA.
After Perry served his country, he and his wife moved to Dayton, OH, where he worked as a computer programmer.
He retired in 1987, moving to Palm Bay, FL, then to Fairfield Glade in 2005. Geraldine passed away in 2019 at age 92.
Perry is now a Good Samaritan Society resident with son Steve as his caretaker.
On Jan. 27, in recognition of his military career, Perry received a Quilt of Honor in a robing ceremony at Good Samaritan Society, with his family and friends in attendance.