A Hero In Our Midst: Pennsauken Business Owner Recalls World War II Experiences
We were saddened to hear of the passing of John Perozzi, Sr. yesterday at the age of 98. Founder of Beacon Auto and Truck Collision Center in Pennsauken, Mr. Perozzi was a paratrooper in the D-Day invasion of Normandy. This article, printed in August of 2012, highlighted just some of the accomplishments of a true American Hero.
By Betsy McBride, AAP Special Contributor
There will be many heroes in our lifetimes; some who do small deeds with great love, and some who give the supreme sacrifice to save others. Not many of us can say we know a person who saved thousands of lives and still lives to share our love of freedom and liberty. We have, in our midst, such a man and I was humbled to have sat with him listening to his stories.
Pennsauken business owner John Perozzi, 92, was a certified Navy welder when World War II broke out. Most everyone his age was drafted, but his position entitled him to an exemption. The war effort needed Navy welders. He took two of exemptions and threw away the third. Perozzi, who grew up in Camden, chose to serve and enlisted in the Army at the age of 23. “All my friends were in Europe,” he explained.
Perozzi left a job that paid $150 a week for an Army salary of just over $2 a day, and headed to Fort Dix in November 1942.
Perozzi, pronounced “per-Oz-zee,” qualified as a paratrooper when 40 percent of the class dropped out. He headed for Europe on the Queen Elizabeth II, and became part of one of America’s elite forces from World War II, the 82nd Airborne Division, 505 Combat Regiment, 2nd Battalion, E Company, 1st Platoon.
His first combat jump, under the unforgettable leadership of Sergeant Otis Sampson, was on June 6, 1944 at 0130 hours, the D-Day invasion of Normandy. When asked if he was scared, Perozzi said, “Not scared, just cautious.” While flying into Normandy, he prayed, “Look over me and I won’t forget you.”
His platoon was the only one who landed where they were supposed to, taking a square of their parachutes for a scarf. The other paratroopers landed 4 miles away, down the beach. He remembers the challenges of the famous hedges of Normandy and how many soldiers were lost that day. Through it all, his unit liberated the first town in Europe, Sainte-Mere-Eglise, holding it until reinforcements arrived. The next morning a gunner said, “You’re shot.” He didn’t know. That bullet is still in his shoulder 68 years later.
One of the worst battles of World War II began in late September 1944. John Perozzi jumped with the 82nd Airborne into Nijmegen, Holland. Operation Market Garden, the largest airborne operation in world history was a daylight jump, attempting to secure bridges to allow the Allies into northern Germany. Perozzi’s unit secured the mile-long bridge at Nijmegen after two and a half days of brutal combat, only to have the operation fail after 63 days. Under the often-questioned leadership of British Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery, 80 percent of all the soldiers involved did not come home. Perozzi called it, “the biggest snafu of the war.”
The 82nd Airborne Division was called into action again in December. Thinking the Division would be heading South, commanders prepared their troops for warm weather and stored winter uniforms. Instead, Perozzi’s unit boarded trucks for Belgium. Perozzi remembers the Battle of the Bulge, the largest and bloodiest battle of the war, as one fought by hundreds of soldiers without gloves in extremely cold temperatures. Perozzi didn’t take his boots off for 30 days and suffered frostbite along with many of his buddies. “It was the worst battle I was in because Normandy was warmer.”
World War II ended in May 1945. John Perozzi became part of the 52-20 Club, soldiers who made $20 per week for 52 weeks as a way to get back on their feet. He headed back to New Jersey, as a recipient of a Purple Heart with two clusters, among many other distinguished service awards. Reflecting on his experiences, Perozzi commented, “War is a waste of life.”
Honorably discharged with the rank of Staff Sergeant, John Perozzi studied auto body mechanics under the GI Bill and opened Beacon Auto and Truck Collision Center in 1948, turning a 50’x 60’ garage into one of the biggest and best auto body shops in South Jersey, right here in Pennsauken. He prides himself on his company’s level of customer service and quality. “We never cheat our customers and we use the best products to produce the best results,” says Perozzi.
Of the 68th anniversary of D- Day, June 6, 2012, John Perozzi was welcomed back in Sainte-Mere-Eglise with a parade. Hundreds of French citizens lined the streets of town. He was awarded the highest honor of France, the Legion of Honor. Travelling with his son and daughter, along with Sergeant Sampson’s son, he said, “It’s all about the people under the white crosses. Without them, we would not be here.”
John Perozzi Jr., now running the family business wrote to friends, “My most compelling memory: having both men and women, young and old, coming up to my father with tears running down their faces saying, ‘Thank you for your sacrifice and thank you for our liberty and freedom.’”
Asked about military service, John Perozzi said he believes everyone should serve their country for two years. “I am a better person than when I went in.”
Thank you Mr. Perozzi, and thank all who served and are serving for liberty and freedom around the world.
