Perešin was born in the village of Jakšinec near Gornja Stubica, north of the Croatian capital Zagreb.

In 1991, during the early stages of the war, Perešin decided to defect in order to help defend his homeland.

On 25 October 1991 Perešin flew his MiG-21R from the Željava Air Base and landed in Klagenfurt, Austria.

[2] His defection as well as his statement that he is a "Croat and I cannot and will not fire upon my Croatia" proved to be a significant morale boost for the Croatian forces.

On 2 May 1995, while providing close air support to the Croatian Army during Operation Flash, he was shot down over Stara Gradiška by anti-aircraft artillery from the Serb Krajina forces.