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\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\tBorn on February 22, 1920, in Kannapolis, North Carolina, George Washington “Buck” Perry is the personification of \u201cThe Greatest Generation.\u201d<\/p>\n
A dedicated family man, patriot, and veteran of two wars, he enlisted in the US Army Air Corps in 1939, flew 35 missions over Germany as a B-17 turret gunner during WWII, and served as a crewman aboard a B-26 in Korea.<\/p>\n
But you\u2019d never know it by talking with the soft-spoken Air Force veteran of thirty years who just celebrated his 100th birthday.<\/p>\n
Perry, like many men of the greatest generation who fought in Europe and the Pacific, rarely mentions his memories of flak-filled skies, exploding planes, bombed out cities, and dead buddies.<\/p>\n
But recently, when asked by his great-niece, Melannie Tyson, to share his WWII and Korean War<\/a> experiences for a biography she was writing, the stories came flowing out.<\/p>\n George \u201cBuck\u201d Perry during WWII (PC: Melannie Tyson)<\/p><\/div>\n Recalling his time as turret gunner with 457th<\/a> Bomb Group, he recounted the daily bombing runs, the constant fear of not making it back to base, and lost friends. With German pilots determined to blow the American \u201cFlying Fortresses\u201d out of the sky, every mission became a deadly game of Russian roulette. Staff Sergeant Perry never knew when his luck would run out.<\/p>\n On one particularly harrowing run, his four-engined, heavy bomber was repeatedly struck by flak, sending shrapnel ripping through the aircraft and into the body of the ball turret gunner, the man in the small, spherical, bubble-like gun mount on the bottom of the plane.<\/p>\n \u201cThe left elevator was out, the oxygen system in the back of the plane was out, and the bomb-bay doors were flopping in the wind,\u201d he remembered. \u201cWhen I got back on the ground. . . and assessed the damage, I counted 44 holes in the right main fuel tank alone.\u201d<\/p>\n The wounded ball turret gunner, miraculously, had survived. \u201cI gave him a shot of morphine, and they took him back to the radio room,\u201d Perry recalled.<\/p>\n Others weren\u2019t so lucky.<\/p>\n Ground personnel look at the damaged wing flap section of the “Lady B Good.” The B-17 later made a crash landing in Belgium. The crew was unharmed and returned to their base in Glatton, Scotland, to finish their WWII service. (PC: Zemper Collection, http:\/\/www.457thbombgroup.org)<\/p><\/div>\n On a mission that would go down as one the Group\u2019s deadliest, a plane next to Perry\u2019s was hit by German anti-aircraft rounds, causing the plane to catch fire and explode in mid-air. \u201cI was in my turret looking back to the rear when suddenly our aircraft rocked . . . the plane to our right was hit directly. No one had a chance to get out.\u201d<\/p>\n The disturbing images of men falling through the sky without parachutes would stay with him for the rest of his life.<\/p>\n \u201cIn total I flew 35 missions . . . most lasted around 8 hours, the longest was 10 hours,\u201d he told Melannie. <\/p>\n Many men, however, weren’t as fortunate. Eighty-three B-17s and 334 men of the 457th Bomb Group never made it home.<\/p>\n 457th Bomb Group B-17s on a bombing run over Germany. (PC: Zemper Collection, http:\/\/www.457thbombgroup.org)<\/p><\/div>\n Perry never forgot his time in the US Army Air Corps, and like so many men of the greatest generation who witnessed death and destruction on a scale never seen before in human history, his World War II<\/a> experiences would have a lasting impact on him.<\/p>\n From his first mission during Operation Argument, or \u201cBig Week,\u201d in February 1944 to bombing enemy targets during the Allied invasion of Normandy and supporting American troops during the Battle of the Bulge, he survived one of the deadliest jobs of the war.<\/p>\n During his time in the service, Perry was transformed from an innocent, young North Carolina teenager into a mature, battle-hardened combat veteran, all in a short \u2013 but life changing \u2013 five years.<\/p>\n Post WWII\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n After the war, Perry returned to the States, and on October 27, 1945, married Dorothy, who remained his wife for 55 years. \u201cShe traveled with me and always found a job wherever we went,\u201d he proudly recalled.<\/p>\n He went on to serve during the Korean War as a crewman on a stripped-down B-26 bomber that had been converted into a weather reconnaissance plane.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only way to avoid MIGs was flying almost at water-top level over the ocean,\u201d he recalled. \u201cWhen we got back, the ground crew would have to use heavy tools to scrape off all the sea salt stuck to plane.\u201d<\/p>\n It was the brutal, sub-zero temperatures, however, he remembered the most. \u201cKorea is coldest place I\u2019ve ever been.\u201d<\/p>\n Buck Perry during the Korean War (PC: Melannie Tyson)<\/p><\/div>\n Postscript:<\/strong><\/p>\n Perry retired from the Air Force after 30 years of service.<\/p>\n His wife, Dot, passed away in 2000 from Alzheimer\u2019s, and his only son, Richard, an Air Force veteran of 20 years, died in 2005 from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Perry remarried and his second wife, Betty, died three years ago.<\/p>\n When asked about his secret to longevity, he said, \u201cReally no secret to how long you\u2019re going to live; it\u2019s up to the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n Then in his usual humorous style he added, \u201cBut I never could figure out why he was keeping me around so long.\u00a0I think the Lord wanted to prove that a 2 \u00bd pound baby, born at home that nobody knew how to raise, could live to be 100.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Here’s to you, Buck! We salute, your family, the 457th Bomb Group, and all the men and women of the Greatest Generation! We will never forget you.\u00a0<\/p>\n Author’s note<\/strong>: A few weeks ago Mr. Perry suffered a stroke. He was able to return home and is now under the care of hospice and his family. We ask that you remember him in your thoughts and prayers. <\/em><\/p>\n Update:<\/strong> Mr. Perry died on April 1, five days after this blog was written. We’re glad his family was able to read it to him just before he passed. He will be buried in June with full military honors.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Top\/Feature photo<\/strong>:\u00a0B-17s flying through German anti-aircraft flak. (PC: Zemper Collection, http:\/\/www.457thbombgroup.org<\/a>)<\/p>\n\t457th Bomb Group<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Unforgettable Images<\/strong><\/h2>\n
A Life-Changing Five Years<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\tBuck Perry today. (PC: Melannie Tyson)\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\tBuck Perry, just days after his 100th birthday celebration, is congratulated by President Trump. (PC: Melannie Tyson)\n\t