John Casey Perkins

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Lieutenant Colonel, US Army

John Casey Perkins

WKU Class of 1941

John Casey Perkins (7/15/1918-1/17/2010) attended Western Kentucky University from 1936-1941. He was a member of the Kentucky National Guard and the WKU ROTC program. John was the starting center of the football team and a member of the Barons Fraternity, which became Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity, while working to pay his way through college.

John entered the Army as a Second Lieutenant in 1941 and served with the 30^th Infantry Regiment of the Third Infantry Division, spending almost four years in foreign service during WWII. He was in amphibious landings at Casablanca, Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, and southern France, and was awarded the American Defense Ribbon, Legion of Merit, Army of Occupation Award, EAME Ribbon with 10 bronze stars and arrowhead for 10 campaigns, Bronze Star Service Medal, Distinguished Unit Ribbon, American Theater Ribbon, WWII Victory Medal, Italian Cross of Military Valor, Army Commendation Ribbon, and WWII French Fourragere. John served as S-2 and commanding officer of the 3^rd Signal Corps and was one of the first Americans inside Dachau concentration camp at its liberation. He was instrumental in the surrender of the German Officer, Otto Skorzeny. He separated from the service in 1947 as Lieutenant Colonel and was a member of the Retired Officers Association.

John had a successful sales career and was a member of the Bowling Green Board of Realtors, Bowling Green Noon Rotary Club, Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce, Mid-Century Literary Club, and Downtown Business Association. He served as a Deacon, Elder, and Trustee of the Presbytery in the Presbyterian Church of Bowling Green, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bellewood Presbyterian Home for Children. John was the first Chairman of the Bowling Green-Warren County Historic Preservation Board. He was a founding member of the Bowling Green-Warren County Landmark Association. John was awarded the “Ida Lee Willis Memorial Foundation Preservation Award” by the Kentucky Heritage Council. He also received the Warren County Conservation District’s Master Conservationist Award. He was inducted into the Bowling Green High School Hall of Honor. John was a member of the WKU Hilltopper 100 Club, the W Club, and a founding member of the College Heights Foundation Golf Classic. His pride in being a member of WKU’s ROTC program and the Army was evident throughout his life in his character, his love of his family, and his service to his country and his community.