John "Jack" Pershing Perrin was born on November 5, 1918. Before enlisting, Perrin lived with his parents in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

At age 25, he was already certified as an ace pilot, having destroyed at least five enemy aircraft. On the day he died, Perrin had been assigned to fly the Mustang from an airbase in Warton, Lancashire, to another one about 160 miles away. It should have been a routine 40-minute flight. Although he was experienced, Perrin had never before flown a Mustang P-51-D, with an extra 85-gallon fuel tank that could make it tricky to maneuver. Sometime after takeoff, the plane began leaking fuel from the right side of the engine, in front of the cockpit. The cockpit began to fill with smoke and fuel vapor. But Perrin apparently chose to stay with the stricken plane in an effort to reach the nearest landing strip or crash-land in a field.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com