Sorry.
I have to post this again.
We lost about two weeks of posts but I am still happy.
The alternative was to lose everything we had on the WAF.
It was a research tool beyond measure, money wise.
So, here we go.
I went from Seymour, TN all the way to Pennsylvania, about 16 miles inside the state line, just above Maryland, off of I-81.
Picked this up. AnMP40.
It had sat in a bag in a basement for 29 years, unseen and untouched.
970 miles in 14 hours and 35 minutes. Two stops for gas, one for food and the meet with the family of the vet.
It is an MP40 and I have provenance, with a capital 'P', that it came back from Europe, in the possession of a Master Sgt. who had been with Darby's Rangers. He was an original member, rank of Buck Sgt., of the 1st Battalion and got cadre'd into the 4th battalion.
That is a long story and it will take some time to prepare properly, to write and get everything in the proper timeline.
Suffice it to say, for the moment, that he was with the first and original class that went through the Commando training, under the British at Achnacarry, was blooded in Northern Africa, saw service in Sicily and was at Cisterna in Italy, after having landed at that mess that was called the Anzio Landings.
It's on a Form 4 but has been dewatted and will take a little work to get it to rock and roll again but that WILL HAPPEN, I'm tellin' ya'!
Enjoy the pictures. I took a lot of them.
Paul E. Perry
Member of the 1st Ranger Bn.
Cadre'd to the 4th Ranger Bn.
Came out of the Iowa group that volunteered for Ranger training.
He is pictured in a studio portrait in 1943. It is a copy.
I have his Honorable discharge. It is a copy.
His DD-214 shows a lot of the information on his basic background, training and time in service. Another copy.
I find it particularly interesting that he reenlisted after the war and was a Marine for a year and kept his rank also!
There is a brief diary of his time spent aboard ship going to Europe for further training.
I had no idea that they dropped so many depth charges... and everyday too.
You'd think that the German Navy had a thousand submarines.
Mr. Perry claims that his convoy destroyed four submarines themselves!
It also is poorly typed and boring, so I didn't include it in the pictures.
He typed up a list of his time in service.
After the war, he joined a Ranger Association.
He made an appearance on THIS IS YOUR LIFE, featuring Randall Harris.
There are two photos of Mr. Harris' family, that he apparently gave to Paul Perry, so he must have thought a lot of him.
Pictures of Mr. Harris, his wife, kids and parents.
You can see Mr. Perry at about 8:05 in the video.
I have a copy of the script. It isn't worth showing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMTI815xak4&t=244s
At the same time as the episode of TIYL came out, the movie DARBY'S RANGERS, starring James Garner came out. Mr. Perry had a special parking pass to see the premier of the movie in Philadelphia.
There is a letter from WARNER BROS. STUDIO, thanking him for attending the premiere and mentioning the fortuitous TIYL episode being filmed at the same time.
There is also a list of other people that appeared on the TV show.
There is a review of the movie. It wasn't favorable.
There is a business card that he had made for laughs.
I also got a letter, signed by his daughter, showing receipt of the MP 40 to me and who her Dad was and where he got it. (Always a good idea.)
As I think of anything else that is germane, I'll mention it.
Thanx for looking.
Tim
I have to post this again.
We lost about two weeks of posts but I am still happy.
The alternative was to lose everything we had on the WAF.
It was a research tool beyond measure, money wise.
So, here we go.
I went from Seymour, TN all the way to Pennsylvania, about 16 miles inside the state line, just above Maryland, off of I-81.
Picked this up. AnMP40.
It had sat in a bag in a basement for 29 years, unseen and untouched.
970 miles in 14 hours and 35 minutes. Two stops for gas, one for food and the meet with the family of the vet.
It is an MP40 and I have provenance, with a capital 'P', that it came back from Europe, in the possession of a Master Sgt. who had been with Darby's Rangers. He was an original member, rank of Buck Sgt., of the 1st Battalion and got cadre'd into the 4th battalion.
That is a long story and it will take some time to prepare properly, to write and get everything in the proper timeline.
Suffice it to say, for the moment, that he was with the first and original class that went through the Commando training, under the British at Achnacarry, was blooded in Northern Africa, saw service in Sicily and was at Cisterna in Italy, after having landed at that mess that was called the Anzio Landings.
It's on a Form 4 but has been dewatted and will take a little work to get it to rock and roll again but that WILL HAPPEN, I'm tellin' ya'!
Enjoy the pictures. I took a lot of them.
Paul E. Perry
Member of the 1st Ranger Bn.
Cadre'd to the 4th Ranger Bn.
Came out of the Iowa group that volunteered for Ranger training.
He is pictured in a studio portrait in 1943. It is a copy.
I have his Honorable discharge. It is a copy.
His DD-214 shows a lot of the information on his basic background, training and time in service. Another copy.
I find it particularly interesting that he reenlisted after the war and was a Marine for a year and kept his rank also!
There is a brief diary of his time spent aboard ship going to Europe for further training.
I had no idea that they dropped so many depth charges... and everyday too.
You'd think that the German Navy had a thousand submarines.
Mr. Perry claims that his convoy destroyed four submarines themselves!
It also is poorly typed and boring, so I didn't include it in the pictures.
He typed up a list of his time in service.
After the war, he joined a Ranger Association.
He made an appearance on THIS IS YOUR LIFE, featuring Randall Harris.
There are two photos of Mr. Harris' family, that he apparently gave to Paul Perry, so he must have thought a lot of him.
Pictures of Mr. Harris, his wife, kids and parents.
You can see Mr. Perry at about 8:05 in the video.
I have a copy of the script. It isn't worth showing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMTI815xak4&t=244s
At the same time as the episode of TIYL came out, the movie DARBY'S RANGERS, starring James Garner came out. Mr. Perry had a special parking pass to see the premier of the movie in Philadelphia.
There is a letter from WARNER BROS. STUDIO, thanking him for attending the premiere and mentioning the fortuitous TIYL episode being filmed at the same time.
There is also a list of other people that appeared on the TV show.
There is a review of the movie. It wasn't favorable.
There is a business card that he had made for laughs.
I also got a letter, signed by his daughter, showing receipt of the MP 40 to me and who her Dad was and where he got it. (Always a good idea.)
As I think of anything else that is germane, I'll mention it.
Thanx for looking.
Tim
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