World War II began in 1939 when Nazis invaded Poland and ended in 1945 with the surrender of Germany and Japan, after tens of millions had perished in history's deadliest conflict. Approximately 13 million served in America's armed forces, including roughly 2,000 people from Perry County, about 9% of its 1940 population. Among the Perry Countians who answered the call to duty, 56 died: 55 men in action, from wounds, in training, or on active duty, and one woman, Army Pvt. Mary M. Albright of Bucks Valley, while serving stateside. The highest-ranking Perry Countian to lose his life was Marine Lt. Col. John P. Adams of New Bloomfield, who received the Navy Cross for heroism, survived two and a half years as a POW after his capture at Bataan, and drowned when a U.S. submarine mistakenly torpedoed his Japanese prison ship. Allen and Margaret Groff of New Bloomfield sent six of their seven sons into the war; Tyrus and Leonard were wounded, and Cornelius was killed at Utah Beach in Normandy, France, on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Another son, Richard, a career soldier, received the Distinguished Service Cross at the Battle of the Bulge, was wounded in Korea, and later served in Viet Nam. Many from Perry County gave their lives, and many more carried physical and emotional wounds for the rest of their lives.