VFW namesake commemorated in Sunday ceremony
CANONSBURG – James Perry was just a little more than 28 when he joined the U.S. Army in 1916, as the United States was on the cusp of joining the fray in World War I.
A portrait of James Perry, a Canonsburg native who died in World War I. The VFW Post 191 in Canonsburg is named after him.
He left for France in July 1917, and was one of 26,000 Americans killed in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, which stretched on for 47 days and helped bring about the end of the war. A bloodbath of almost unimaginable proportions, it also claimed 28,000 German lives and an unknown number of French lives.
With the 100th anniversary of Perry’s death and the end of World War I looming, a ceremony was held Sunday afternoon honoring the fallen private at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 191 in Canonsburg. The VFW post bears Perry’s name.
“We wanted to do something for our namesake,” said Barry Andrews, the post’s commander. After playing “Taps,” Andrews noted the Canonsburg community has “always recognized its veterans.”
Brad Hundt/Observer-Reporter
Barry Andrews, commander of the VFW Post 191 in Canonsburg, plays “Taps” on the bugle Sunday during a ceremony commemorating James Perry, the VFW Post’s namesake. Perry died 100 years ago in World War I.
Perry was awarded the World War I Victory Medal, and is buried in the Meuse-Agonne Cemetery and Memorial in France. Perry’s two brothers, William and Harold, also served in World War I and survived. They were honorably discharged in 1919.