Marvin Perrett
Born1925-09-17
New Orleans
DiedMay 7, 2007(2007-05-07) (aged 81)
Metairie, Louisiana
NationalityAmerican
Other namesMarvin J. Perrett
Occupationsailor
Known forserved heroically, commanding landing craft, during ww2

Marvin Perrett was a high-recognized sailor of the United States Coast Guard.[1][2]

Perrett served aboard the troop transport USS Bayfield, commanding one of her landing craft, during the invasion of Normandy, and invasions in the Pacific Ocean, including the Invasion of Iwo Jima and the Invasion of Okinawa.[2][3]

Perrett was able to complete the landing of two sets of troops on Utah Beach, at Normandy.[2] After landing his troops at Iwo Jima his landing craft shipped water, and was swamped, and was abandoned. He and his small crew spent the rest of their day on the beach, finally getting a return to his ship around midnight. At Okinawa his landing craft was involved in a series of feints, proceeding close to several beaches, but then withdrawing, without landing.

Following the war Perrett's oral history of his wartime experience was widely distributed, and he was a frequent speaker.[4]

Legacy

Interviews with Perrett appeared in multiple documentary films. The Imperial War Museum, in London, had an exhibit focussed around Perrett, his landing craft, PA 33-21, based on his oral history. Perrett gave a demonstration of piloting a recreation of his landing craft, on Lake Pontchartrain, a week prior to his death in 2007.

Higgins boats, the manufacturer of Perrett's original landing craft, built a reproduction, in 2009, that it named the Marvin Perrett.[5]

In 2010, Charles "Skip" W. Bowen, who was then the Coast Guard's most senior non-commissioned officer, proposed that all the cutters in the Sentinel class should be named after enlisted sailors in the Coast Guard, or one of its precursor services, who were recognized for their heroism.[6][7][8] In 2019 the Coast Guard announced that Marvin Perrett would be the namesake of the 64th cutter, USCGC Melvin Perrett.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Marvin Perrett". World War 2 online. Retrieved 2019-11-24. His father was a veteran of the First World War and had been wounded in France by the Germans and refused to sign so that Perrett could enlist at age 17. Therefore Perrett enlisted at age 18 and on 16 September 1943 he went to the navy recruiter.
  2. 1 2 3 Scott Price (2003-06-18). "Interviewee: Marvin J. Perrett, World War II Coast Guard Veteran". U.S. Coast Guard Oral History Program. Archived from the original on 2007-10-02. Retrieved 2019-11-24. Mr. Perrett's oral history is comprehensive. He describes his decision to join the Coast Guard and he then delves into the extensive training he received and how he was picked to be the man in charge of a landing craft.
  3. ↑ "Coast Guard Hero Passes Away". Coast Guard News. New Orleans. 2007-05-07. Archived from the original on 2007-12-27. Retrieved 2019-11-24. Last week, Mr. Perrett hosted a week long Coast Guard symposium with hundreds of Sector New Orleans personnel, which included a Coast Guard history display, including several tours and trips onboard a Higgins type LCPV across Lake Pontchartrain and a 39ft RHIB from Textron Marine and Land Systems.
  4. ↑ "WW II Veteran Shares Horrors Of War". WLOX. 2004-02-05. Retrieved 2019-11-24. Perrett's personal war story left quite an impression on students, many of whom plan to enter the military.
  5. ↑ Christening of the Marvin Perrett. YouTube. 2009-06-07. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
  6. ↑ Susan Schept (2010-03-22). "Enlisted heroes honored". United States Coast Guard. Archived from the original on 2011-12-03. Retrieved 2013-02-01. After the passing of several well-known Coast Guard heroes last year, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Charles "Skip" Bowen mentioned in his blog that the Coast Guard does not do enough to honor its fallen heroes.
  7. ↑ "U.S. Coast Guard announces name for first Sentinel-class cutter". 2010-03-22. Archived from the original on 2010-03-25. Retrieved 2013-02-01. Previously designated to be named the Coast Guard Cutter Sentinel, the cutter Bernard C. Webber will be the first of the service's new 153-foot patrol cutters. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen approved the change of the cutter's name to allow this class of vessels to be named after outstanding enlisted members who demonstrated exceptional heroism in the line of duty. This will be the first class of cutters to be named exclusively for enlisted members of the Coast Guard and its predecessor services.
  8. ↑ "FRC Plan B: The Sentinel Class". Defense Industry Daily. 2014-05-02. Archived from the original on 2014-07-07. Retrieved 2014-04-03. All of these boats will be named after enlisted Coast Guard heroes, who distinguished themselves in USCG or military service. The first 25 have been named, but only 8 have been commissioned...
  9. ↑ "Coast Guard releases names of next 10 Fast Response Cutters". Coast Guard News. Washington, DC. 2019-10-23. Retrieved 2019-11-07. Continuing the Sentinel Class' tradition of honoring women and men who distinguished themselves while serving as enlisted Coast Guard members throughout the history of the Service, FRCs 55–64 bear the names of leaders, trailblazers and heroes of the Coast Guard and its forbearers.
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