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<em>William P. Baldwin</em>’s plans for a career in the Army began long before he reported to West Point in July 1933. As the son of an Army officer, he had a good appreciation of the rigors of Army life, the demands on an Army family from changes of station, the continual acquisition of new friends and the separation from old ones and, above all, the precepts of duty, honor and service to country which he would embrace during and following his years at the Point.</p>
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With his background, the transition from life in an Army family to the life of a cadet came naturally. In plebe year he established early that he would have few troubles with the academic or tactical departments. He graduated in the top third of the class, with Infantry as his first and only choice of branch. He devoted much of his time to the Catholic Chapel squad, teaching Sunday School to the children of the post and serving as an altar assistant. His leadership earned him the stripes of a yearling corporal followed by his selection as a cadet sergeant.</p>
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In his last year at the Point, Perry became engaged to Betsy Eskridge. They were married on Graduation Day, 12 June 1937 and started their short Army life together at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, where their son, Perry Baldwin, Jr., the Class Godson, was born on 28 February 1938.</p>
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As a junior officer, Perry caught a miscellany of duties in addition to that of a company officer in the 3rd Infantry. He served as the mess officer and battalion adjutant for the CMTC and ROTC summer camps, he was the senior instructor and Officer-in-Charge of the West Point Preparatory School and he also took part in the National Rifle Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio.</p>
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In the summer of 1940, the Baldwins embarked on an Army Transport for the Philippines, where Perry joined the 57th Infantry at Fort McKinley. They enjoyed the life of the “old Army” until Betsy and Perry, Jr. were evacuated to the States along with other dependents. Perry was reassigned to the 102nd Regiment of the Philippine Scouts, serving on Mindanao until the forces were surrendered in April 1942.</p>
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A classmate, Colonel Robert Besson, described some aspects of early prison camp life in his diary: “Time in camp hung pretty heavy on our hands because there really wasn’t much to do. There were a few books in camp, but these were hard to get … Most of the time was spent in visiting among our friends.</p>
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… We spent a lot of time forecasting the end of the war and our release, always when we hoped to get out and not when we actually thought we’d get out … We made plans as to what we were going to do and what we were going to eat when we got home. Every night nearly in one of the groups there was some kind of show, mostly variety, though several plays were put on … Once, I forget the date, we had a 1937 class party. I don’t remember who got it up … We all contributed a little in cash and had a fine meal, chicken soup, chicken cooked up in the rice, a couple slices pf bread, a pudding and coffee … The only one missing was Wynkoop, who was in the hospital.”</p>
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By 1944 life in the prison camp had changed. Joe Chabot, a classmate, has a penciled note in his diary about a visit Perry made to him in a ward on 14 December. Joe was a litter patient and couldn’t walk, and therefore avoided being sent along with the 1500 prisoners on the Oroyku Maru. Perry asked Joe, if he was still alive when the Americans retook Manila, to contact Betsy and give her this message:</p>
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“I’ll always be proud to be an American. I hope America will always keep a strong defense against any and all countries. Always distrust the Japanese. I have received enough mail in prison camps to know what was going on back home and I’ve received one snapshot. I love you, Betsy, and Perry, Jr.”</p>
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Perry died in the sinking of the Oroyku Maru in Subic Bay on 15 December 1944. In late 1945, Betsy married Henry Pike, a lawyer in the metropolitian area of Washington, D.C. Perry, Jr. attended Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania and graduated from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. After service in the Coast Guard, he attended American University. He became interested in European culture and, after graduating from the Mozarteum Academy of Music, remained in Europe working as a doctoral candidate and teaching in a private school in England.</p>
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Perry’s career came to a tragic end too soon for him to realize the goals he had set for himself. In his short time in the Army after graduation he served in the finest tradition of the Point, earning a sound “Well Done.”</p>
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