WWII vet Pete Peri passes away after 102nd birthday

My family gathered in Baltimore, Md., earlier this month to lay to rest Pete Peri, Maryland contractor, WWII veteran, and my great uncle. He was 102.

I wrote about Uncle Pete here, including his military service, two years ago, on the occasion of his centennial birthday. My wife, daughter, and I joined family in Baltimore to celebrate his 102nd birthday in February 2026. He was alert and coherent, recognized everyone, and enjoyed himself so much that he asked to see the pictures the next day. 

He died peacefully the following week.

At the April memorial service, my cousin Tom Peri, Pete's son, read the 1945 government memorandum in support of Pete's Silver Star:

PETER L. PERI, Sergeant (then Private First Class), ... 47th Infantry, who distinguished himself by gallantry in action against the enemy on 26 November 1944 in the vicinity of Weisweiller, Germany. Advancing against strongly fortified enemy positions, the forward elements of the Infantry were subjected to heavy enemy artillery and small arms fire. Sgt. Peri observed two supporting tanks hit and set afire by the intense enemy antitank gun fire. He immediately left his position of comparative safety and exposed himself to the enemy barrage to go to the aid of the wounded tank crews. With complete disregard for personal safety, he evacuated the casualties from the vicinity of the blazing vehicles and assisted in removing them to a position where emergency medical treatment might be administered. As the last man was being evacuated, one of the volunteers fell seriously wounded. Sgt. Peri returned through the enemy barrage and assisted in carrying him to safety. Sgt. Peri's aggressive initiative and courageous actions were a credit to himself and to the Armed Forces of the United States. Entered military service from Maryland.

Pete was born at the very end of the G.I., or Greatest, Generation, and at the start of the Silent Generation. Fittingly, he was both hero and relatively silent. As Tom observed at the memorial service, and not uncharacteristically of war vets, Pete never talked about his military service until his last years of life, when stories suddenly flooded forth. Still, I had never heard about the occasion of the Silver Star.

When I pulled together my own thoughts about Pete for the memorial service, I was flummoxed at first. I had many memories of his comforting company, but I could recall precious few words exchanged. I craved a wise aphorism he had shared, or an anecdote that resulted in a teachable moment. I could remember none. 

Rather, my memories were mostly of being silent with him. I remember us listening to the radio in the car when he picked me up at school; watching our TV-favorite M*A*S*H; eating at holidays, and drinking wine; and driving country roads in Italy to visit family. 

2026

I held forth to my wife on this life-spanning catalog of memories. I cherish them. Every memory with Uncle Pete is a memory of feeling safe and loved.

But, I complained, these memories bore a seeming dearth of verbal exchanges that might produce a useful takeaway to share at the memorial service.

My wife tilted her head and stared into the distance in that librarian way she does when she's processing a volume of information. It's the human equivalent of the spinning circle at Google Gemini.

"It sounds to me," she cautiously started a response. Then, looking back to me, after a pause: "Like he was always there."

She hit the nail on the head, as usual.

Pete Peri was always there. For his country, and for his family. And that was no small feat.

Thank you, Uncle Pete. We love you.

Rest in peace.

Law student vets collect food for hurricane victims

VLA members
UMass Law photo

Massachusetts State Rep. Chris Markey (D-Bristol) presented a citation to the Veterans Law Association (VLA) at UMass Law yesterday in recognition of the group's collection of about 300 pounds of nonperishable food for residents of Florida and North Carolina impacted by recent hurricanes.

Timothy Trocchio, 3L and Army veteran, accepted the citation for the group, which also recognized the work of the Student Bar Association. It's my privilege to serve as faculty adviser to the VLA.

Rep. Markey and Trocchio
UMass Law photo

VLA student leaders have brimmed with initiatives this academic year to support veterans in the law school and in our state and local communities, besides coordinating service work such as the food drive. The organization board comprises Trocchio, president; Sean Pillai, vice president; Cameron Sweeney, treasurer; Bryce Mayo, secretary; and Morgan Richter, social media manager. Pillai and Mayo are vital contributors in my Comparative Law class this semester; they and Sweeney are alumni of my Torts I & II.

Baltimore contractor, WWII infantry vet turns 100

© Used with permission.

Pete, a retired Baltimore, Md., contractor, WWII veteran, and my great uncle, turns 100 today, February 7.

Upon graduation from high school in Baltimore City in 1943, Pete was drafted into the 9th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army ("the Notorious Ninth"). He served in Europe for four years, remaining for several months after VE Day. He was awarded a Silver Star and Purple Heart and discharged as a second lieutenant.

Before Pete came home from Europe, he was able to visit family in Italy. About four decades later, he joined me for a trip to visit our cousins there again. In the electronic age, I've served as go-between for trans-Atlantic updates.

© RJ Peltz-Steele

Pete came home from the war to marry my great aunt, Velma, and to build a construction business in Baltimore. They started a family. Throughout their active years, Pete and Velma volunteered vigorously in Baltimore's Italian-American community, raising money for scholarships.

Pete retired to a quiet life of golf, reading, and doting grand-parenting in Baltimore County. We celebrated Sunday.

Law prof joins 'Taps Across America,' honors Texas soldier, attorney, Justice Floyd A. Shumpert

My longtime colleague, mentor, and friend, Professor J. Thomas Sullivan, joined Monday's "Taps Across America" remembrance (Facebook), organized by CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman.

Justice Shumpert

Emphatically, if unnecessarily to my ear, asserting his amateur proficiency, Professor Sullivan played especially to honor his father-in-law, Floyd Allen Shumpert.  In 2008, Professor Sullivan dedicated a law review article to Justice Shumpert, writing:

This article honors my father-in-law, Floyd A. Shumpert of Terrell, Texas, who served as an Associate Justice on the Texas Court of Appeals for the Fifth Judicial District from his appointment in 1983 until his defeat in the 1984 general election. Judge Shumpert began his career in public service following his return to Kaufman County, Texas, after World War II. During the War, he served in the 8th Infantry Division, 28th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion of the United States Army. He suffered a severe injury requiring amputation of his lower leg when he stepped on a land mine in the Huirtgen Forest in Germany only a few days before commencement of the German counter-offensive known today as the Battle of the Bulge. He was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart. Upon his return from Europe, he was elected County Clerk and later, after earning his law degree from Baylor University, County Judge. He left the bench for private practice for over fifty years in Kaufman County, interrupted only by his appointment to the court of appeals. He is the most courageous and the kindest man I have ever known.

J. Thomas Sullivan, Danforth, Retroactivity, and Federalism, 61 Okla. L. Rev. 425, 425 n.* (2008) (direct download).  The video is © 2020 J. Thomas Sullivan, used here with permission.