Editing John Peurifoy (section)

==Early Life and Education==
John Emil Peurifoy, known as “Jack,” was born on August 9, 1907, in Walterboro, South Carolina, to John H. Peurifoy and Emily Wright. His family, descended from lawyers and jurists with roots in the New World tracing back to 1619, was steeped in Southern tradition. Peurifoy’s mother died when he was six, and his father passed away in December 1926, leaving him to navigate early adulthood independently. A 1926 high school graduate, his yearbook ambitiously noted his desire to become President of the United States. That same year, he received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point but withdrew after two years due to chronic pneumonia, a health setback that shaped his early career path. Without a college degree, he pursued night classes at American University and George Washington University while working in Washington, D.C., but never graduated, relying instead on practical experience and determination.