- Name: USS PERRY
- Ship Class: Destroyer Tender
- Ship Number:
- Date Commissioned:
- Status: Sank 9/13/1944
Ship History:
or decades divers have searched for the USS Perry DMS-17, a destroyer sunk by a mine in the Palauan Islands two days before the famous World War II assault on Peleliu.
But it took a sailor who felt the heat of that explosion 56 years ago, who was lifted into the air by its impact, then swam for his life, to find it. The destroyer was sweeping for Japanese mines on Sept. 13, 1944, to prepare for the Marine landings on the tiny islands of Peleliu and nearby Angaur.
From: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
Commodore Perry
Oliver Hazard Perry was born 3 August 1785 in South Kingston, R.I., and entered the Navy as a midshipman in 1799. After distinguished service in the Quasi-War with France and the Barbary Wars, Perry commanded American forces on Lake Erie in the War of 1812. There he won a decisive victory over the British on 10 September 1813 which gave control of the lakes to the United States. He died on board John Adams Iying off Port of Spain, Trinidad, 23 August 1819.
Matthew Calbraith Perry, his brother, was born in Newport, R.I., on 10 April 1794, and became a midshipman in the Navy in 1809. Perry commanded the Gulf Squadron during the latter stages of the Mexican War and in 1853-54, while commanding the East India Squadron, negotiated the historic treaty which opened Japan to American commerce. He died 4 March 1858 in New York City.
SwStr: t. 512 l. 143’ b. 33’ dr. 10’ s. 7 k. cpl. 125 a. 2 × 9″, 2 × 32-pdr. sb , 1 × 12.pdr. how.
Commodore Perry , an armed side wheel ferry, was built in 1859 by Stack and Joyce, Williamsburg, N.Y.; purchased by the Navy 2 October 1861; and commissioned later in the month, Acting Master F. J. Thomas in command.
Commodore Perry sailed from Hampton Roads, Va., 17 January 1862 to join the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, and on 7 and 8 February took part in the attack, in cooperation with the Army, which resulted in the surrender of Roanoke Island, part of the long campaign through which the Navy secured key coastal points. Commodore Perry took part in the capture of Elizabeth City on 10 February, and the next day captured the schooner Lynnhaven. As operations along the North Carolina coast continued, she joined in the capture of New Bern and Washington in March, and in April took singly or in concert with others of her squadron four schooners and a sloop in the Pasquotank River and Newtogen Creek.
On 3 October 1862, Commodore Perry joined in an Army-Navy expedition against Franklin, Va., and on 10 December, joined an attack against Plymouth, N.C. After another combined expedition against Hertford, N.C., on 30 January 1863, Commodore Perry patrolled constantly in Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds and the streams which enter them, frequently exchanging fire with small detachments of Confederates ashore. Repaired at Norfolk and Baltimore late in 1863, she returned to her squadron in March 1864 for duty in the inland and coastal waters of Virginia on picket, guard, and patrol duty, joining in many amphibious expeditions, until the close of the war. She sailed from Norfolk for New York 12 June 1865, and there was decommissioned 26 June and sold 12 July 1865.
Battle History:
Survivors of the sunken USS Perry, after their rescue by the USS Cleveland.
On Sept. 13, 1944, fate put Tunks on the port gun, the side that didn't get hit by the mine. But his buddy wasn't so fortunate. He had placed his wet clothes in the engine room to dry quickly and had just opened the hatch to get them when the mine hit at 2:18 p.m., flooding the hatch with steam.
"We were so close to shore the (Japanese) soldiers on the beach were firing their guns and rifles," said Tunks, who swam out to sea without a life jacket or other support. Eventually he was picked up in a life raft.
The Perry, which had survived the Pearl Harbor attack, went down at 4:07 p.m. Tunks' friend and another sailor died on a rescue ship, and he watched them buried at sea. The remains of the other six could be entombed in the ship's No. 1 fireroom, near a boiler that exploded. An action report submitted by Navy officials on Sept. 23, 1944, said a search before the ship was abandoned found "no trace" of the men.
Tunks remains emotional over the deaths. Still, the Perry's discovery has excited him and other World War II shipmates, as well as divers and historians around the world. Dan E. Bailey, author of "World War II Wrecks of Palau" and books on Truk and Kwajalein lagoons, searched for the Perry years earlier.
Bailey said there are few U.S. warships sunk in battle that are accessible to scuba divers. Besides the Perry, the cruiser USS Houston lies in Indonesian waters near Java. Others are too deep or rest in unknown locations, Bailey said. The USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor can only be viewed from the surface. But at 240 feet, a first-hand look at the Perry will be limited to experienced "technical" divers using special equipment. Navot Bornovski, owner of Fish'n Fins dive operation in Koror, Palau, led the expedition with Tunks. On May 1, discovery day, Bornovski and one of his instructors descended, staying only seconds to confirm the discovery. The next day they dived the Perry for six minutes. Although they didn't get photos or video, other divers have done so since then. "It's in perfect condition because it's so deep," said Bornovski. "The guns and ammunition boxes are just like they were laid down a few days ago." Bornovski said the single mine the Perry hit did not cause much damage, but the destroyer broke in half. It lies on its side, still connected at about a 20-degree angle. Because the destroyer lies outside the lagoon, he estimated the visibility at 400-500 feet, compared to 40-50 feet in Truk Lagoon, grave site of many Japanese warships. And the Perry's depth has prevented much coral growth.
Possibility of sailors’ remains may put Navy in a quandary
By Susan Kreifels, Star-Bulletin
The discovery of a U.S. warship in Palau that was sunk by a mine during World War II could pose a dilemma for the Navy. The USS Perry lies at 240 feet, making it accessible to scuba divers in a country where the biggest industries are tourism and diving. The remains of six sailors could be entombed in a fireroom. Military officials in Hawaii say the Navy has just been alerted to the May 1 discovery of the Perry and can't comment on any decisions regarding the destroyer minesweeper. Navy policy states that the Navy retains control over all naval vessels and aircraft, even those lost in foreign countries and waters. The Navy also considers sunken ships as fitting burial sites and memorials for lost Americans, said Johnie Webb, deputy commander of the Central Identification Laboratory Hawaii, which recovers and identifies U.S. military remains. The Navy has never recovered remains off sunken ships, Webb said. But some say that should change. According to World War II historians, there is only one other U.S. warship sunk during battle, located off the Indonesian island of Java, that is accessible to scuba divers. Japanese remains are still entombed in a few sunken Japanese warships in Truk Lagoon, and divers enter those wrecks, according to wreck historian Bill Remick, who has researched the Perry. "People have no compunction about diving on these things," Remick said. "It would seem to me to be incumbent upon the Navy to reclaim the remains. That settles the problem." Francis Pogue, 75, of Virginia Beach, Va., was on the Perry when it was hit. Pogue said he believes divers should be allowed on the wreck, but "it should be treated the same as a cemetery, with the same respect. He also believes nothing should be removed unless families request remains or the Perry survivors vote that certain property be recovered. Our experience would be that if remains have not been exposed to tidal activity where they were washed away," Webb said, "they are probably still there." He said that if families requested remains, the decision would be up to the Navy.
The eight who gave their lives Eight men died when a mine sunk the USS Perry in Palau on Sept. 13, 1944. Their names and home states, according to the U.S. Navy, are: Joseph Brand, New York; Paul Burnette, Tennessee; Frank Byrd, Ohio; Henry Edgell, West Virginia; Ottice Joplin, Texas; Arthur Schieber, Minnesota; Donald Schomer, Nebraska; Dan Wersebe, Texas. Burnette and Schomer died on a rescue ship and were buried at sea. The others are believed to have died inside a fireroom. They were not found before the ship sank.
shipwreck hunters looked before, the USS PERRY was found in 240 feet of water lying on her side. It was Larry Tunks 78th birthday that day!
Due to the explosion in the engine room, the ship broke in half when she sunk, yet the two parts are still connected. The stern lay west to east and the bow south to north.
On their first dive, Navot Bornovski and Jeff Wonnenberg identified the wreck. On May 2, 2000, the stern area including the 4' stern gun along with the port side of the engine room was inspected. The visibility around the island of Angaur is phenomenal (more than 300 feet, the Fish ‘n Fins boat could be seen on the surface!).
