PVT L. T. Perkins

courtesy of D.B.

PVT L. T. Perkins was born 7 Jul 1925 in Sheridan, Arkansas. L. T. (he appears to have had no other name) was the 4th of 5 children of Valentine T. Perkins and his second wife, Delitha Elizabeth Johnson. His father had farmed for a number of years in Vernon Parish, Louisiana but after his first wife had died and he re-married, Valentine had moved, along with many other members of the family, to Henderson County, Texas and continued to farm.

When L. T. registered for the draft he was farming with his half-brother, William Isaac Perkins in Larue, Texas while attending school. L.T. was drafted in November 1943 and after his basic military training was sent to Europe in April 1944. PVT Perkins was transferred from the replacement depot to B Company 116th Infantry on 5 Jul 1944. He fought with the unit until killed in action near Saint-Lo, France on 12 Jul 1944.

PVT Perkins was repatriated in 1948, returning home aboard USAT "Corporal Erie G. Gibson" and re-interred in Davis Cemetery in Athens, Texas.

Several of L. T.'s brothers served during the war. William Isaac Perkins, Israel Perkins and Carl Wilkerson Perkins all served in the U.S. Army during the war. Youngest brother, Marvin Ernest Perkins served in the Army 1946-1948.