Francis served as a First Lieutenant, 2677th Regiment, Office of Strategic Services, U.S. Army during World War II. It is believed that his birth name was " Franz A. Pollak ". He resided in Kings County, New York prior to the war. He was originally from Vienna, Austria before he immigrated to the United States. He served as a German linguist. Born Franz Pollak in Vienna, Austria, Francis Perry joined his family in Brooklyn in 1939. The Pollak family was Jewish and undoubtedly had escaped persecution in Nazi-annexed Austria. Perry's voyage to the United States had begun in France, and he had received his entrance visa while in Palestine. In Austria, he had been a journalist. In New York, he worked as a clerk in a hat factory with his parents and later in a knitwear business in Manhattan's garment district. He was recruited to the OSS after enlisting in the U.S. Army in May 1941. He enlisted in the Army on May 9, 1941, prior to the war, in Jamaica, New York. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed in the manufacture of knit goods and also as Single, without dependents. The Office of Strategic Services, of which he was a member, was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the main World War II intelligence agency, and a predecessor of today's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Information on this office's records and activities were not released until 2008. 1Lt Francis Perry became a member of what was called the "Dawes Team" sometime in October, 1944. Under code name "Dare", he was to represent the German Austrian desk collecting information on Slovak headquarters and exploring the possibility of courier routes over the frontier. Two other civilians also were dropped with him at the same time. Emil Tomes, an American who lived in Slovakia, was sent in to work independently on counterintelligence, and Associated Press correspondent Joseph Morton. The Dawes Team was sent into Czechoslovakia (Present Day Slovakia) to rescue downed American/Allied airmen on September 17, 1944. The original team included Lt. James H. Green, Cpl Robert R. Brown, S/Sgt Joseph J. Horvath, and M/Sgt Jerry G. Mican. Later in September they were joined by a two man team with the code name of "Houseboat" which included SP(X)2 Charles S. Heller and Private John Schwartz. On October 7, 1944 a team called the "Bowery Team" were sent to the region and that team was comprised of 1st Lt. Tibor K. Keszthelyi, Steve Catlos, and civilians using the code names Francis Moly and Stephen Cora. On October 17, 1944 Lt. James H. Gaul, Lane Miller, William McGregor, Kenneth Lain, J. Dunlevy and photographer Nelson Paris, joined the "Dawes Team". 1Lt Francis Perry was captured by the German SS in Czechoslovakia (Present Day Slovakia) and was taken to the Mauthausen Concentration Camp in Austria. Francis was tortured and then "Executed While A POW" by the German SS. His remains were cremated. He was awarded the "Silver Star", Prisoner Of War Medal, and the Purple Heart. Service # O1115737 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OSS members executed at Mauthausen Concentration Camp: Baranski, Edward V ~ Capt, Army, Illinois, "Day Team" Brown, Robert R ~ Corp, Army, Illinois, "Dawes Team" Gaul, James H ~ Lt, Navy, New York, "Dawes Team" Green, James Holt ~ Lt, Navy, North Carolina, "Dawes Team" Heller, Charles S ~ SP(X)2, Navy, Illinois, "Dawes Team" Horvath, Joseph J ~ S/Sgt, Army, Ohio, "Dawes Team" Keszthelyi, Tibor K ~ 1st Lt, Army, New York, "Bowery Team" Mican, Jerry G ~ M/Sgt, Army, Illinois, "Dawes Team" Morton, Joseph ~ Civilian, War correspondent, AP, "Dawes Team" Paris, Nelson B ~ PhoM1C, Navy, Oregon, "Dawes Team" Pavletich, Daniel ~ Civilian, "Day Team" Perry, Francis ~ 1st Lt, Army, New York, "Dawes Team" British Military executed at Mauthausen Concentration Camp: Sehmer, John ~ Maj, Army, British ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Two others, with the last names of "Willis" & "Wilson" were also executed with the above group. It is unknown if they were American Military, British Military, or civilians. Steve J. Catlos, who was an U.S. Army Soldier and a member of the "Bowery Team" evaded capture and survived the war. Private John Schwartz, William McGregor, Kenneth Lain, and J. Dunlevy members of the "Dawes Team" all became POW's and survived the war. Anton Novak, a civilian with the "Day Team" escaped capture and survived the war.
Source: Find a Grave