Wrentham Police Salute Memory Of Former Sergeant, Soldier

MANSFIELD, MA – Wrentham police are remembering Charles Perry as a son of the town, a Vietnam veteran, and a sergeant in the department for 11 years before moving on to the Harvard Police Department after the man friends called "Cappy" passed away on Monday. He was 75 years old.

Wrentham Police Chief called Perry someone "who played in Wrentham streets as a boy and protected those same streets as a man" in a moving tribute. Perry joined the Wrentham Police Department in 1965, and volunteered to serve his country in Vietnam in 1967. There he served as a mortuary identification specialist who prepared the bodies of American soldiers killed in action so they could be returned to families in the United States.

"Though few assignments could seem darker, those who knew Cappy, knew well he performed his duties with honor, for country and for each Gold Star family back in the States," McGrath wrote.

Perry returned to Wrentham PD where he was promoted to sergeant in 1973. He served at that rank until he was named police chief in Harvard in 1984. He retired in 1992.

"Though Harvard PD may command Chief 'Cappy' Perry as theirs in some way, Wrentham respectfully claims his heart and soul as ours for it is here in Wrentham where his honorable life of service began, and here in Wrentham where he shall return to rest for eternity," McGrath said.

McGrath invites those wishing to share a memory of Perry on the Wrentham PD Facebook page.

Remembrance and funeral information for Perry can be found here.