Flight engineer and gunner Clarence E. O. Perry abandoned his seat at the top of the B-24 Liberator as it flew over Germany during World War II. His plane had been hit by artillery on the ground. The pilot and copilot slumped over in their seats, wounded. Perry, too, suffered bleeding wounds to his arm and head. But with one engine lost, and the fear of what lay ahead if any German villagers got to him before the German military did, Perry grabbed the controls and landed the plane within enemy lines.

Death for him would be another 73 years in the making; He died Monday, March 7, on his birthday.

His time as a prisoner of war was short, his actions worthy of a Purple Heart. And, by the time he'd finished his military career, he also earned a Silver Star, the Air Medal with nine Oak Leaf Clusters, The Distinguished Flying Cross with nine Oak Leaf Clusters, and three presidential citations, according to his daughter-in-law Margaret Mistretta Perry.

Clarence was born in Rockland March 7, 1924, one of seven children. His mother, Ruth Maud (Oliver) Perry, died of poor health in 1926 when Clarence was two. His father, Horace T.Perry, died (reason for death unknown) in 1939. 

Clarence’s sisters, Barbara (Perry) Beverage, and Dorothy, tried to keep the children all together.

“Too much for such young girls, Horace decided to foster all but two of his seven children,” said Margaret.

By the age of six, Clarence was part of the Melvin L. and Edith Overlock Philbrook family, of Union, and being educated through the area schools.

Upon graduating high school in 1942 at age 17, he enlisted in the Air Corp, using the signed consent of an older sister. Though Perry referred to his foster parents as his parents, only blood relatives had legal authority at that time.

Yet, legally related or not, learning from his mother, via letter, that his father was laid up with a broken leg and the crops could not be harvested, Perry declared his responsibility to family.

He had already flown 25 missions, enough for him to apply for a hardship discharge. With his application denied, he waited at his base in Texas for a day or two for a possible reconsideration. When none came, Perry walked onto the tarmac, climbed into a military plane and flew to Maine. Stole, borrowed, commandeered, any of those words might work. His father needed him.

He parked the plane at the Bangor airport, made his way to Rockport and brought in the crops before the military police found him two weeks later.

Because he returned to service agreeably, no court martial ensued for the quiet, unassuming man, as his future daughter-in-law would one day describe him.

In 1945, at age 19, Perry left the service. He and Blythe settled in Rockland, where he worked three years, 1947 to 1950, as patrolman for the police department before being recalled into service for two years during the Korean War.

After that, the growing family moved to Connecticut, where Perry worked as a certified public accountant for that state, before returning to work for the State of Maine.

His household in later years included cats, dogs, ducks, and chickens, along with his wife, Blythe Cullinan, of Appleton, and their two children, Sherwood (now of Enfield, Conn.) and Rhonda (Giansiacusa, now of Warren).

His heart held space for many, many more animals.

"He loved every animal, no matter how scrawny, ugly or ornery they were," Margaret said.

As a founding member of the Camden-Rockport Animal Rescue League, which opened in December 1974, "he did everything from helping to build the actual structure, caring for the animals, transporting them to the vet, cleaning, and purchasing the food," she said.

As treasurer and member of the board: "he was often seen with the shelter checkbook tucked under his arm. His work inside the shelter was never done. He loved the dogs, and he fed them, cleaned their cages, took them for walks, transported them back and forth from the vets, and buried them when they died," Fay Secotte, shelter manager for 12 years, said in an article honoring Perry six years ago.

He also loved cats, purchasing food with his own money, as well as returning to the shelter during thunderstorms to comfort animals.

Aside from his family, Perry was most proud of the animal shelter that would later be known as P.A.W.S. For his dedication to animals, the shelter hung a plaque at the facility.

“He set a standard of care that we all strive to live up to, and if his name is not yet inscribed on our walls, it is in our hearts. Thank you, Perry, for everything. We are forever grateful,” Secotte said in the article.

In return, Perry continued to praise the work of shelter staff and volunteers, including Heidi Neal of Loyal Biscuit.

Following a stroke in 2010, Perry moved to Enfield to live with Sherwood and Marge. While there, he introduced Marge to the television show The Voice, offering details about Adam Levine and the other panelists.

Only once has Marge ever heard Perry express discouragement over aging. That was when Sherwood turned 60.

"You gotta be pretty old to have a son who's 60," he told Marge.

Clarence E.O. Perry; Dad, Grandpa, Father-in-Law, Friend, passed from this life exactly 92 years after he entered it. March 7, 1924 - March 7, 2016. He will be missed.