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lws posted a condolence
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Farewell and Godspeed, JP
My Heartfelt condolences
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Sharon posted a condolence
Thursday, September 13, 2018
Kind thoughts are with you and your family in your time of grief.May this scripture at(1-Thessalonians 4:14)give you strength during your time of bereavement.
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Groesbeek Airborne Friends posted a condolence
Saturday, August 11, 2018
Dear Family,
On June 12, 2014 Jeanne and I met up with John and the family group in Nijmegen. We had a small reception at Nijmegen City Hall and visited the area near the Trajanus Square where John had so bitterly fought on 19/20 September 1944.
We walked into the backyard of some houses where John pointed to the roofs explaining how they jumped from roof to roof and clear the houses from German resistance.
In Groesbeek we stopped at the DZ where he jumped on Sunday 17 September 1944.
We had a great time and felt very privileged meeting John and his family.
AATW.
Jeanne Melchers and Marco Cillessen
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Mark Adams donated to GOLD CROWN FOUNDATION INC
Friday, August 10, 2018
I’ll be happy to donate to any cause that John Perozzi found worthy of his time.
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Elizabeth (Perozzi) Garlington posted a condolence
Friday, August 10, 2018
Uncle John was my only living uncle on my dad's side. He was a true WWll hero, who was shot 3 times with one of the bullets still near his heart, a leader of men, who fought in all the major battles, and almost lost his life, due to carbon monoxide poisoning from a malfunctioning tent heater. He went on to establish a very successful autobody shop. He developed leadership during his paratrooper training and combat days. Then, along with his intelligent use of tenacity and people-handling skills, he directed those skills toward his prowess as a businessman.
He had an interview, which was shown every 15 minutes at the Reagan Memorial in Calif. He was featured in a television segment on WWII filmed in France a few years back, and, a year or two before that, he went to France to receive the French Medal of Honour. I read his book Why Me? about his WWll experience, and the rigorous training he went through to get his paratrooper wings, his great trials, including days lying in a muddy farm field being shot at by Germans, crossing open water with the enemy on the other side, enduring months with no heavy jacket, which also was not reissued, in freezing cold, along with not being reissued galoshes, which eventually led to frostbite that dogged him for the rest of his life, being strafed but a German plane and only saved by diving under a railway car, and much more. He and his fellow paratroopers all returned to their company after treatment for their wounds. It was a true band of brothers.
He was a kind and generous person, who will be much missed.
Elizabeth (Perozzi) Garlington
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Danielle n mayhew purchased flowers
Thursday, August 9, 2018
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Vidal C. Lim purchased flowers
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
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ALAN RAPHAEL posted a condolence
Monday, August 6, 2018
To the Perozzi Family!
What an extreme honor and privilege it was to host y'all & S/SGT John Perozzi during his recent trip to New Orleans and The National World War II Museum! The heartfelt admiration shown to S/SGT Perozzi by our staff and visitors alike made me so very proud that he was able to visit the museum dedicated to him and others like him. With every handshake and pat on the back, I witnessed a twinkle in Perozzi's eye that I am sure your family and friends had seen many times before, but was new to me. It was a knowing look of "been there, done that," but not in a braggadocios manner, but more of a reassuring one...one that told everyone he encountered that everything would be alright! A look of confidence gained not only long ago on the battlefield, but also later, during his years of raising a family, running a successful business, and being an American! God Bless & keep S/SGT John Perozzi, 82nd Airborne Division, 505th Combat Regiment, 2nd Battalion, E Company, 1st Platoon! Rest In Peace!
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keith nightingale posted a condolence
Monday, August 6, 2018
John was one of the men I mentioned here. I sat with him at the Hotel De Ville where the bands played. He was a good man.
Keith Nightingale
Col (Ret)
SOUNDS
The medical geriatric experts say that the sense of sound is usually the last to go among the living. So very few among those are the veterans of D Day and the sounds of their youth. What did they hear as their last memories fade away? At the Hotel DeVille, the city hall of St Mere Eglise, France, the latest memorial ceremony highlights how tenuous is our hold on these first person participants. A single small row populated by six men is the focus of the best we had to offer on 5-6 June 1944. What do they hear? It’s a near endless serial of choices.
The drone of the more than 4,000 aircraft taking off from the south of England on that ebbing twilight day. The sound of the wind loudly coursing by the open door frames with a mix of moisture, exhaust and gasoline with a partial view glimpsed by the six in the waning kaleidoscope of light across the English countryside. Unheard and unseen by the six, were the thousands of faces upturned throughout the land, knowing that the source of the endless noise was the beginning of their final deliverance by these six and their companions. The six soldiers were an integral part of that noise. For the seaborne elements it was the coalescing of more than 4,500 vessels in a relatively narrow passage each throbbing and grinding away in the indigo-black surging sea-moving as swiftly as possible to meet those six soldiers passing above. Together, all would initiate the sound of the guns, signaling the culmination of their purpose.
Unheard by both elements would have been the church bells, rung all over England on Churchill’s order, calling the congregations to prayer for this penultimate endeavor. A bit later, on the American East Coast, beginning around 4AM Eastern Daylight Savings Time, a similar event was occurring-a reaction to the initial news broadcast by the German’s of the invasion and confirmed by CBS. However, as the American peals rang out, almost half a day had transpired and the beaches, fields and watercourses had already been littered with the violently loudly disposed shattered detritus of battle. Our six would have been engulfed in those mortally fatal sounds.
The cocoon of noises generated by the aircraft engines began to be interrupted by the random slap of bullets on the fuselage. As gravel or rain on a tin roof, it ebbed and flowed depending more on chance than design. The individual anxiety within each aircraft could not be heard but was universally felt. The jump commands broke the rhythm, curbed the anxieties and suppressed for a moment the sounds outside. Each of the six would have heard through personal initiation, the rough rasp of the static line snap fastener against the cable and the clunk of boots against the floor as each of them moved toward the door and new sounds. A bright green light followed by the loud command of GO released the six and their companion chain of jumpers uniformly rasping along the cable heralding the sounds of the rest of their lives.
For a very quick moment, the exit sounds broke the internal fears, the wind and noise wrapping each soldier in its own cocoon. Then, just as quickly, the parachute serially snapped out of the container, the sound lost to the six but bringing each to a uniformly sudden definitive stop. A loud grunt of compressed air and a pop of the now inflated canopy swung each below his suspension lines. Moments before, there may have been a tearing sound he heard as his equipment bag or other gear was ripped from his body by the combination of airspeed and the violence of the opening shock. For a very brief interlude, the sounds of silence at this moment brought a mental focus as the long prior training and experience individually activated.
The next sounds could have been the quick pop of a bullet passing through canopy or snapping by an ear. For many of their brothers, it was the dull thunk of a strike on flesh, unheard except by the recipient who would hear no more.
Next came the contained slam into the soft Norman earth or a splash into the Merderet and the sounds of water and air quickly closing overhead. Some of the fortunate would exhale loudly as lungs were collapsed and recovered. Others, at least 32 underwater, would never hear the sound of inhalation again.
Perhaps a cow was deeply snorting and investigating this incursion into the herd, its breath, grunts and steps communicating to others. The soft fall of ripe apple blossoms, disturbed by the soldier’s descent, would, like snow, fall unheard but visually obvious. The parachute would softly encompass the area-its existence more sensed than heard. Now the sounds of soldiers at work would begin.
Initially, it is the grunting, snapping and rasping cuts of a soldier getting out of the parachute. Then a moment of silence as he tries to orient himself, find a friend and locate the foe. The sound of movement through the nettles, hedges and vegetation is equal and neutral to both. The sound of human voices, shattering in the stillness but truly low in volume, override the non-human sounds of the night. A friendly accent, a familiar language or metallic click, or the sliding and closing of a bolt signal friend or foe.
The whole experience and the overload of adrenalin is draining. Some, after divesting the parachute, reach for a canteen and quench a newly generated thirst. The black Bakelite cap, if not carefully held, impacts on the aluminum container and makes a loud clang-sounding like a dull church bell but probably lost within several feet. The water is draughted down and the canteen returned to its pouch with the grinding sound of newly emplaced grit between the cup and the container.
A German Mauser has two or four distinct sounds, depending on whether or not it has been fired. The supremely lethal MG 42 has a distinctive ripping cloth sound that clearly distinguishes friend and foe on the field. It is a sound that sticks. Chance encounters are sudden stabbing sounds laced with the heavy breathing and adrenalin-filled shouts of the respective participants. This is followed by a moment of relative quiet as the combatants sort out their mortality and the results.
For some, the encounter can be auditorily mortal with the tenuous sounds of ebbing life. The impact of a bullet striking flesh is a distinctive thud. Possibly unheard by others but overwhelming to the recipient. An extremity hit emits more human verbalization as its non-mortal mass impacts, but heat and damage registers immediate reactive pain to the recipient. Blood hisses and bubbles slowly from a lung shot and speaking is difficult. For the deeply visceral wound, there is little in the way of sound with the occasional exception of a slow death rattle of air bubbling by the trachea.
An M1 has a capacity for 8 rounds in the clip which can be very satisfying to the firer with its comforting repetitive fire. But, at the end of the sequence, it emits a sound unique to it identifying the user-it is a sharp metallic clank as the empty clip is ejected from the rifle. A deep and excited exhale is emitted as the user slams a new clip into the open bolt face and closes it-renewing its capacity in the endless cycle of close combat. Our six would have great experience with this sound.
All this recedes in the minds of the six old soldiers. Assisted by hearing aids and canes to limit the effect of life’s infirmities, they sit in silence and polite attention as the ceremony honors their life. Massed bands play respective National anthems-this time including German’s in their distinctive Fallshirmjager uniforms-friends and fighting allies now. Enemies of high professional regard earlier. The six remember and respect.
In time, the program reaches its conclusion. The six old soldiers arise and stand as the bands leave in mass. All march in silence but one, that of the Germans. Reverberating through the narrow streets and softened by the effect of more than 10,000 people from a myriad of nations, the strains of the 5th Movement of Beethoven’s Ninth, The Ode to Joy with its paean to faith and hope, lifts over the scene and flows past the six standing soldiers. They knew at this moment, with the sights and sounds of the scene telling them, that they insured everyone had won.
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Lynette Poulton posted a condolence
Monday, August 6, 2018
Sad to read of John’s passing. Met him many times through my husband John Poulton (who passed away last year) and who thought he was the very best. My husband was a Insurance Adjuster and John would let him use some “office space” to do his paper work. He also enjoyed his life stories and we both enjoyed reading his book. May they both Rest In Peace.
J
Jeff campbell posted a condolence
Sunday, August 5, 2018
Lynne, sorry to hear about your dad passing away, been a lot of years but two things I have never forgotten
Sitting at your parents kitchen table and you trying to teach your mom to curse
While sitting at your kitchen table I mentioned about how can anyone not keep butter in the refrigerator and your mom got up and opened up a cabinet door to show me where she kept her butter, we all had a good laugh.
I retired from the Post Office 10 years ago and live in Somers Point, my daughter lives 4 house from me and teaches nursing and my son lives two blocks from me and he is an environmental engineer. Five grandchildren and still happily married. My dad passed away years ago but my mom lives near me and she is 92. Take care of yourself.759hH
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Karen and Gregg Meyer posted a condolence
Saturday, August 4, 2018
Lynne, Jim , John, Kim and family. Our hearts are sad to hear of JP’s passing. He is with his Father in heaven where there is no more pain, suffering or tears.
May God’s Gracy pour over you with comfort.
May your memories be your comfort also.
Much love and prayers
Karen and Gregg
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Lil and Angelo Quatrano posted a condolence
Friday, August 3, 2018
Our most heartfelt condolences to the Perozzi family. JP will be missed by many, but not more than by his loving family. We are here for you...with much love...❤️
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Richard and Kathy Holle posted a condolence
Friday, August 3, 2018
Our deepest condolences to the family of John Periozzi....it was an honor to have met him....to John Jr....your father was so proud of all the 82nd Airborne trips you took together..........Rick and Kathy
Holle
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Erwin Peters posted a condolence
Thursday, August 2, 2018
Sincere Condolences From Belgium to all Family and Friends of John Perozzi ,Sr.
i feel Honored to have known and met this Great Hero and Person from the greatest generation . Thank you for your service Sir and Rest in Peace .
Erwin Peters
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Gayle Carr posted a condolence
Thursday, August 2, 2018
My heartfelt condolences to the Perozzi family. I first met John about 30 years ago when I was an insurance appraiser. John greeted me with his warm smile and I always enjoyed listening to his wonderful stories over the years. He was truly a remarkable man and a real American hero. Rest In Peace, JP
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Fred Hoek posted a condolence
Thursday, August 2, 2018
dear Periozzi Family ,
our deepest condolences for the lost of mr John Periozzi Sr.
we are thinking of you all.
Fred Hoek and family
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