In 1951 he was called back to active duty as a special assistant to General Dwight D. Eisenhower at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers in Europe.

[3] He was educated at Starke University School in Montgomery,[2] and Alabama Polytechnic Institute, where he studied electrical engineering, and from which he graduated in 1916.

[5] A major triumph was persuading Congress to extend the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, the first peacetime draft in the United States, which was ultimately passed by 203 votes to 202.

[7] After the war Persons headed the office of legislative liaison for the Department of Defense between 1948 and his retirement in 1949 with the rank of major general.

[1] Awards from other countries included the Grand Officer of the Cross of the Sun and the Medal of War from Brazil, Order of Abdon Calderon from Ecuador.

[3] Persons was recalled to active duty as a special assistant to Eisenhower at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers in Europe from 1951 to 1952.

He met frequently with Clark Clifford, President-elect Kennedy's transition representative, to work out the details for a smooth transfer of government.