Every year VFW Post 12055 is happy to present scholarships to our local school’s deserving JROTC members. Below are the two Scholarships we present.
VFW Post 12055 Leo Perisian Scholarship
Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 12055 Leo Perisian Memorial Scholarship award consists of (2) $1,000 scholarships given to (2) JROTC candidates at Braden River High School.
About Leo Perisan
Leo Perisan was a WWII veteran and a founding member of VFW Post 12055 here in Bradenton. He served in the 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment during WW11 making several jumps throughout Europe. His battalion casualty rate was 81.9 percent. The battalion suffered 1,576 casualties and had 247 men killed in action.
After his passing in November 2007, the post established this scholarship in his honor.
The criteria of this scholarship are as follows:
You must be a member of the JROTC program
Have a GPA of 3.5 or higher.
Participation in school and community activities
And write a short essay.
LEO PERISIAN January 19, 1924 – November 7, 2007
Leo was trained as a Parachutist in the 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment (517th PIR) and served in Europe for extensive combat. The 517th PIR was one of the U.S. Army’s first elite combat units and before its dissolution after only thirty-three months, the outfit of 2,500 men endured some of the heaviest fighting of the European campaigns – from Italy through the invasion of Southern France, then the bitter winter in the Ardennes (in the Battle of the Bulge) and the final thrust into Germany.
The battalion casualty rate was 81.9 percent. The Team suffered 1,576 casualties and had 247 men killed in action. Leo suffered a back injury on one of his jumps and told of being rescued by locals and being hidden in a barn for 2 months as his injury healed. Then of course, he was back into action.
On another jump, he was upset to have landed in a tree and was trying desperately to get safely to the ground – until he heard a patrol of Germans approaching to walk directly under “his” tree. They did not look up, and he suddenly thought that the tree was a pretty safe place to stay for a while after all!
The 517th PIR was attached to the 82nd Airborne Division and Leo fought with it in Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge.
The Ardennes Offensive (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945) was a major German offensive on the Western Front and was launched towards the end of World War II. It was also Adolf Hitler’s last offensive in the war. This offensive was officially named the Battle of the Ardennes by the U.S. Army, but it is known to the general public simply as the Battle of the Bulge.
For the U.S. Army, the battle incorporated more troops and engaged more enemy troops than any conflict before that time. In the wake of the defeat, many experienced German units were left severely depleted of men and equipment. The Battle of the Bulge was the bloodiest of the battles that U.S. forces experienced in World War II; the 19,000 American dead were unsurpassed by those of any other engagement.
Following the Battle of the Bulge, the 517th PIR was assigned to the 13th Airborne Division and remained in Europe until returning to the USA in August, 1945. Prior to his return, they had also been attached to the 17th Airborne Division and were slated to take part in the airborne invasion of the Japanese Home Islands, but their invasion was called off after V-J Day.
Leo was Honorably Discharged in April, 1946 and during his career, he received the following awards:
Overseas Service Award
Good Conduct Medal
Distinguished Unit Badge
Victory Medal
American Theater Ribbon
European African Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon
Two Bronze Battle Stars
It’s interesting to note that Leo had never been in an airplane prior to his paratrooper training, but he enjoyed flying so much that one of his first actions after his discharge was to buy an airplane, learn to fly and become a very successful hunting guide in the upper USA and Canada.
Leo went on to become a very successful business man in a variety of fields including manufacturing, automobile and truck dealerships (including the rare 1948 Tucker) and llama and buffalo ranches. He was always active in organizations such as the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Civil Air Patrol, 4-H, Rotary Club and an Ambulance Crew. He and his wife retired to Bradenton, Florida in 2001.
VFW Post 12055 George Cumming Scholarship
Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 12055 George Cumming Memorial Scholarship award consists of (2) $1,000 scholarships given to (2) JROTC candidates at the Lakewood Ranch High School.
George Gordon Cumming was born in Milton, MA 6/6/1925, graduated from Braintree High School in 1943, and immediately enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Serving as a Machinist Mate, he was stationed in the Aleutian Islands and on the aircraft carrier USS Tarawa in the heart of the Pacific during World War II.
On his initial discharge from the Navy, he returned to Boston, where he joined the Esterbrook Stock Brokerage Company (later known as the Harris Upham Stock Brokerage Company, prior to its merger into Smith Barney) as a Stock Grader.
During that time, he married Mary Elizabeth “Bette” Tantillo and on returning from their honeymoon, was called back into the Navy for the Korean War, during which he served aboard the USS Hubbard – DD748.
Honorably Discharged in California in 1951, he settled in the San Francisco area, and eventually Stockton, CA, where he remained for the next 35 years, working as a stock trader.
Upon his retirement, he moved to Bradenton in 1985 until his death in 2012. After his passing in November 2012, the post established this scholarship in his honor.
The criteria of this scholarship are as follows:
You must be a member of the JROTC program
Have a GPA of 3.5 or higher.
Participation in school and community activities
And write a short essay.
See the Award Winners Here
