Joseph D. Perry was born at Brooklyn, Kings County, New York on April 26 1922. His parents were Louis William Perry (21 Dec 1886 – 1 Oct 1949), who was born at Brooklyn, New York; and Elizabeth (Mathes) Perry (abt 1888 – unk), who was born in New York. His parents married about May 1912. He had at least four siblings: Catherine (Perry) Conroy (14 Feb 1913 – 4 Dec 1978), Louis Perry Jr (abt Jun 1915 – unk), Rita Perry (abt Nov 1919 – unk), and Marie Perry (abt 1930 – unk). By 1920 the family lived on George Street in Brooklyn, New York. His father was a wood moulder, and later a watchman and porter at City National Bank in Brooklyn. His sister Catherine was a clerk for an importer; his brother Louis Jr was a gas station attendant; and his sister Rita was a nurse at Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica, Queens, New York.

He registered for the draft at Brooklyn, New York in June 1942. He was 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighed 150 pounds, and had hazel eyes and blonde hair. At that time he lived with his parents in Brooklyn, and was employed by Schieffelin & Company wholesale drug company at 16-26 Cooper Square, Manhattan, New York City.

He enlisted in the U.S Army by 1943, and completed Army Air Forces bombardier training. He received his wings and commission as a Second Lieutenant on October 23, 1943, and was assigned to the heavy bomber crew of Lt Doyle L. Simons. In December 1943 the Simons crew began B-24 crew training at Davis-Monthan Field in Tucson, Arizona. In January 1944 the crew was assigned to the 838th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group at Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico. There they completed B-24 crew training, and deployed with the Group to England in March 1944. They flew B-24H 41-29479 'The Big Bad Wolf' from Alamogordo, New Mexico to Lavenham, England via the southern Atlantic ferry route—a journey of about 10,000 miles—and arrived in England by mid-April 1944.

On May 11, 1944, the McCleary crew took off from Lavenham in B-24H 42-52444 on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Chaumont, France. The secondary target was Troyes. The 487th Bomb Group formation never reached the target. Navigational error resulted in the formation flying over accurate German flak guns guarding the airfield at Chateaudun, France. Lt Perry and eight of his crewmates were killed in action when their aircraft was shot down by flak over Chateaudun. The aircraft took a direct flak hit in the nose and flight deck and started burning at the engines. It went into a dive, exploded in the air, and crashed three kilometers east of Varize near Bazoches-en-Dunois. One man, Staff Sergeant Harold E. Owens, survived. He wrote: "At approximately 1145 we were hit by flak in the nose, which resulted in the death of Lt Victor Kramer, navigator, Sgt Paul Churm, top turret gunner, and S/Sgt Eugene McKee, radio operator. The plane immediately burst into flames, we were flying at an altitude of approximately 11,000 feet, a few seconds later the plane started into a dive, and exploded in mid air, with the result that I was blown clear of the plane. I managed to pull my ripcord and landed eight miles north of Chateaudun, France. I made a safe landing and at a distance of one quarter of a mile I saw the plane completely wrecked and on fire. I was the only member of the crew who parachuted to safety. I did not go near the plane because I knew the bombs had not exploded. I hid in the woods and about five minutes later the bombs exploded."

The dead were recovered by German troops, who buried them at the Grand Cimetiθre in Orleans, France. After the war, Lt Perry's remains were reinterred at Epinal American Cemetery, France.

B-24H 42-52444 crew:
• McCleary, Lorin D – 2/Lt – Pilot – KIA
• McCoy, Ernest E – 2/Lt – Copilot – KIA
• Kramer, Victor S – 2/Lt – Navigator – KIA
• Perry, Joseph D – 2/Lt – Bombardier – KIA
• Owens, Harold E – S/Sgt – Engineer – POW
• McKee, Eugene – S/Sgt – Radio Operator – KIA
• Frey, Arthur C – Sgt – Nose Turret – KIA
• Churm, Paul K – Sgt – Top Turret – KIA
• Barboza, Clemente M – Sgt – Ball Turret – KIA
• Knapp, Dale L – Sgt – Tail Turret – KIA

Source of information: Paul M. Webber, www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov