Berry, Gerald C.

GERALD C. BERRY

Gerald Clinton Berry passed away on November 30, 2021 at the age of 101. Gerald (fondly known as Bud) was born in Warren, Pennsylvania on October 13, 1920, the second of two children. When Bud was only eight years old, in May of 1929, his father died of Hodgkin’s disease. In his youth, Bud held jobs as church assistant, spindle sander in a carving shop and grocery store clerk. After graduating from Warren High School in 1938, he started at Struthers Wells Corporation at the bottom of the job ladder as mail boy. He then worked his way up into the Design Engineering Department of the Mixing Equipment Division where, in 1942, work was being done on the vitally-important Synthetic Rubber Program.

In June of 1942, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program and was placed on inactive status awaiting assignment. In December of 1942, upon receiving orders, he reported for service and was assigned to the Aviation Cadet Classification Center at San Antonio, Texas. After being classified as a pilot, he progressed through the program with Primary Training at W&B Flying School in Chickasha, Oklahoma, Basic Training at Strother Army Air Field at Winfield, Kansas, and Advanced Twin Engine Training at Pampa, Texas. He graduated in November of 1943, receiving his pilot’s wings and 2^nd Lieutenant Commission with the Class of 43-J. He was then assigned to Troop Carrier Command at Bergstrom Field in Austin, Texas for transitional training.

After service at Granada, Mississippi and Sedalia Army Air Field at Sedalia, Missouri, Lt. Berry was transferred to Baer Field in Fort Wayne, Indiana for overseas assignment. On March 13, 1944, he received Special Orders assigning him as Pilot of C-47 Serial Number 43-15213 to proceed with crew from Fort Wayne to Morrison Field, West Palm Beach, Florida for Air Embarkation to final destination. On March 15, 1944, he received SECRET orders, not to be opened until one hour into the flight, giving information as to destination, which was the European Theater of Operations. Upon arrival in England on March 29, 1944, the plane and crew were assigned to the 91^st Squadron of the 439^th Troop Carrier Group, where Lt. Berry stayed for the remainder of the hostilities in the ETO.

Lt. Berry participated in five Combat Missions including the Normandy paradrop, the paradrop and glider tow in southern France, the glider tow in Holland, and the snatch of a glider loaded with wounded soldiers from the Remagen Bridgehead in Germany on March 22, 1945. For these missions, the 439^th Group was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation and was twice awarded a Croix de Guerre with Palm by the French government. Lt. Berry was authorized to wear the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the ETO Service Ribbon with seven battle stars, the Distinguished Unit Service Badge, and the Fourragere of the Croix de Guerre.

When the hostilities ended in Europe, attention shifted to the coming invasion of Japan. The 439^th Troop Carrier Group was selected for service in the Pacific and, in June of 1945, was switched from the old reliable C-47 to C-46 airplanes. In July, Bud flew with the Air Echelon of the 91^st Squadron to the USA for a thirty-day combat leave. When he reported back from leave in August, the A-bombs had been dropped on Japan and the war was over. He was placed in the enlisted reserves and returned to his home and job in Warren, where he immediately applied for enrollment at Penn State, was accepted and attended freshman orientation in late September of 1945. At the end of his third year of school, on June 19, 1948, Margaret “Peggy” Martin and Gerald “Bud” Berry were married in State College, Pennsylvania. Peggy was a 1947 graduate of Penn State with a BA degree in Clinical Psychology who was receiving a Stipend Scholarship and pursuing her course of study toward a Masters Degree. Upon graduation in June of 1949, with a BS Degree in Chemical Engineering, Bud accepted a job as a Technical Representative with ADM in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Bud retired on November 1, 1985 after 36 years of work with ADM and Ashland Chemical Company (which purchased the Chemical Division from ADM in 1967). Peggy and Bud moved to Clearwater, Florida in 1965 and lived there in retirement. He was an active member of the 91^st Troop Carrier Squadron Association. He was also an active member of The Military Order of the World Wars (MOWW). He was a dedicated member of Skycrest United Methodist Church for more than fifty-six years.

Bud is survived by Peggy, his loving wife of seventy-three years. He is also survived by his son Greg and daughter-in-law Karen of Boulder, Colorado, daughter Lisa (Shane) of Denton, Texas and grandson Kevin (Jay) of Loveland, Colorado.

Bud’s funeral, followed by a reception for friends and family, will be held at Skycrest United Methodist Church in Clearwater, Florida on Monday, December 13, 2021 at 1:00 P.M. A family gathering preceding burial of his ashes will be at Florida National Cemetery on Wednesday, December 15, 2021 at 1:00 P.M

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