USS Perry DD-844
The USS Perry DD-844 proudly served the United States for almost 30 years. Built in May of 1945 this Gearing-class destroyer was laid down by Bath Iron Works in Maine and launched in October of that same year and commissioned on January 17, 1946 with Commander Clyde J. Van Arsdall, Jr. at the helm. Throughout her service, a total of 257 men and 17 officers served aboard the USS Perry. Three naval vessels bore the name USS Perry before the DD-844.
After a shakedown off of Cuba, the USS Perry participated in plane guard exercises near Pensacola and subsequently departed for a nine-month cruise to Europe and the Mediterranean. She joined other American vessels and patrolled the waters of the Adriatic, Aegean, and Dardanelles Seas. In March of 1947, the USS Perry returned to Newport for operations training and other exercises that took her from Puerto Rico to Canada. The ship did domestic service off the coast of Maine when a fire broke out at the Mount Desert Island Resort that same year. She returned to the Pacific, where she remained until 1951. After stops in the Mediterranean, the USS Perry once again sailed for New England for training.
Following a third Mediterranean tour in 1952, the USS Perry served as an Engineering School Ship, participating in NATO and other exercises until she was once again sent to the Mediterranean for exercises. She was deployed several more times to the Mediterranean during the next four years, and sailed to the waters near the Suez Canal in 1956 to promote peace talks between Israel and the Arab nations.
In 1960, the USS Perry completed FRAM (Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization) Conversion at the Boston Naval Shipyard, where she received the very latest in sonar and weaponry. After exercises in the Caribbean, she participated in operations with Task Group Alpha and conducted patrols in the Middle East and, in the seventies, Vietnam.
In 1973, the fourth USS Perry was struck from the Naval Register, and she was sold for scrap in 1974.
The USS Perry DD-844 was not unlike other ships built during the WWII-era in that she contained asbestos materials. The crewmembers who served about the USS Perry were most likely exposed to airborne asbestos fibers and may be at an increased risk of developing a related illness, such as malignant mesothelioma or asbestosis. Former crewmembers should speak with a respiratory physician and determine whether or not they are likely to develop an asbestos-caused illness.
Last modified: December 28, 2010.
