Posted by xxxxxxxxxxx on January 28, 2003:

HUGH WISTON PERRY, JR. was born in Louisburg, NC, the oldest son of Hugh and Gladys Vick Perry. When he was nine, the death of his father made Hugh the man of the house-the oldest son between his sister Jane and two younger brothers, John and Dow. As a serious role model for his brothers , Hugh developed the conscientious attitude toward personal responsibility that would characterize his actions for the rest of his life. Growing up in Louisburg, he excelled as a basketball player in high school and graduated from Louisburg Junior College in 1943. With WWII in progress, Hugh enlisted in the Army, went to basic training at Ft. Benning, GA. and within a year earned an appointment to the Academy. He took his oath as a cadet with the class of '47 on 1 Jul 1944 and weathered the trials of Beast Barracks and Plebe year with stoic grace. He flourished in the laid back atmosphere of the "Lost Fifties" ,attended to his academics and mastered lacrosse well enough to win a major "A". With the end of WWII the Class of '47 was divided to accomodate resumption of the traditional four year curriculum. The resulting Classes of '47 and '48 became the smallest graduating classes in a decade and the last where all classmates were genuinely acquainted with one another. For the first time, the Corps had an L-2 company. Hugh was in it and represented his company's interest on the Ring Committee. In the newly constituted Class of '48 Hugh's mature judgement, steady hand, droll sense of humor and congenial warmth contributed to a unique camaraderie that persisted, not only among his graduating companymates, but also in the company's successive cadet classes. It was a spirit reflected in the L-2 entry in the '48 Howitzer. a Kipling parody endorsed by the Company's Howitzer representative, Hugh, with "When tne day of reckoning comeith, and the area clock has stopped. When the last gray class has departed and the uniform flag has dropped. We shall come, the Plebes and the Yearlings, the Cows and the Firsties too. At the call of the Coin of the Angels to the reunion of old L-2. There'll be stories and stories and stories , of the drill streamer won in the Fall. Of the Plebe that got in a twister and forgot his trou at call. Of the boodle fights late in the evening, of the BPs Farkus and Mac. Of the way we hid our hotplates from the discerning eyes of the TAC. And nobody there will haze us, and the rank will be all the same. At the reunion of dear old LCo- the men who played well in the game." Although Hugh's age had entitled him to choose the shorter course, he elected to remain for the extra year of study and to continue courtship of his one-and-only, Barbara. They were married on Graduation Day in 1948, and Hugh continued to call Barbara "My Bride" for 49 years. One year after being commissioned in the Field Artillery Hugh received orders to Japan and the news that in seven months he and Barbara would become parents. He dutifully sailed for Japan , while Barbara settled with her family in Denver. Daughter Dana Ann was born there, but early detection of her life threatening heart defect brought Hugh home from Japan and warranted his assignment to Fitzsimmons. At four months of age Dana Ann passed away and Hugh and Barbara took her to be buried in the family cemetery in North Carolina. Instead of returning to Japan, Hugh was posted to Ft. Bragg where their second daughter Lynne was born. Hugh commanded a battery and served as aide to V Corps Artillery commander. When overseas deployment of V Corps took Hugh to Germany, Barbara and Lynne soon followed. In Frankfurt, Hugh W. III's birth coincided with his father's promotion to captain in 1953. Upon returning home from Europe in 1954, Hugh left active duty to transition his growing family into civilian life. The Perrys settled in Connecticut where daughter Elizabeth was born and where Hugh advanced as aircraft engineering and lubrication consultant at the Torrington Company for 34 years. Beyond the company Hugh's natural capacity for leadership and committment to service quickly established him as a pillar of the community. He was instrumental in the founding of the Torrington Volunteer Fire Department, was twice president of the United Way of Torrington, vestryman and junior warden of Trinity Episcopal Church, director of tbe Child and Family Services organization, president and Paul Harris Fellow of the Torrington Rotary Club, and an active participant in the Civic Theater and the YMCA. Hugh and Barbara returned frequently to West Point, especially during Hugh III's cadet years, 1972-76. In addition to their home in Torrington, the Perrys maintained a winter residence in Apollo Beach, FL., and Hugh kept connections with the West Point societies in both states. In addition to the broad civilian involvements and generous devotion to his family, he committed himself to the weekly meetings and summer Active Duty of the Army Reserve, a prolonged duty recognized by the Meritorious Service Medal awarded at his retirement in 1984. Hugh Wiston Perry shared with us the joys of a life that rested comfortably on the principle that " rightous service is perfect freedom." Hugh, the loving husband and father, loyal friend and compatriot, and selfless soldier and gentileman passed away in Torrington in 1997. He is interred at West Point near the Old Cadet Chapel, among the other great hearts that rest.

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