James Perky '51
Date of birth: July 9, 1927
Date of death: October 11, 1957
Age: 30
Lucky Bag
From the 1951 Lucky Bag:
James Dargan Perky
Stillwater, Oklahoma
"Now back home in Oklahoma . . . God's country, that is" . . . "The most beautiful cattle in the world" . . . and "Boy, what a queen she was" are the most often heard exclamations of big "Jim" Perky . . . with the West firmly entrenched as a first love in his bosom, Jim came to us with a good background of a tour in the "gyrene" corps and a year at Oklahoma A. & M. . . . quickly adjusting himself to the Naval Academy sytem, Jim participated in Batt football and lacrosse . . . "Deals" Perky's personality is best epitomized by his friendly smile and vociferous "Hi ya, buddy!" . . . tenacity and a strong, desire to see things done well point Jim out as a bright prospect for the naval service.
He was also a member of the Brigade Staff (winter).
Loss
Jim was lost when the B-47 Stratojet he was aircraft commander of crashed on takeoff from Barksdale AFB, Louisiana on October 11, 1957. Three others aboard were also killed.
He was the aircraft commander and was survived by his wife, Martha. (Information from December 1957 issue of Shipmate.) He was also survived by his parents and is buried in Oklahoma.
Class of 1951
James is one of 48 members of the Class of 1951 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of the alumni in Memorial Hall.
