Hobart Ellsworth Perry was born on September 3, 1918 in Indiana. He was the son of John Henry Perry and Pauline Miller Perry. Hobart resided in Whitley County, Indiana prior to the war. He enlisted in the Army on April 4, 1942 in Toledo, Ohio. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being Single, without dependents. Hobart served as a Staff Sergeant and Left Waist Gunner on B-17F (#42-5908), 561st Bomber Squadron, 388th Bomber Group, Heavy, U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.

Hobart was declared "Missing In Action" when his B-17 was involved in a mid air collision with B-17 (#42-30370) and crashed into the North Sea during the war. His name is commemorated on the Tablets of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, United Kingdom. He also has a cenotaph located in Eberhard Cemetery, Columbia City, Whitley County, Indiana. SSgt Perry was one of the many brave Americans of the 388th Bomber Group who lost their lives in aerial operations against the German forces from June 1943 - August 1945.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov