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EM F1/c Robert Bullard Perham
aka actor Jeremy Slate
SAILOR, and author of: Odyssey: The Adventures of a WWII Teenaged Sailor by Robert Bullard Perham. "WWII stories: Through the eyes and emotions of a teenager in 1941". He explains what inspires him to work in a defense plant after school, when barely sixteen. Ditched school with pals, lied about his age and enlisted in the Navy. Boot Camp and electricians school at Great Lakes, Illinois. Sent to Pier 92 in New York City for further schooling. Asked for Destroyer duty, which was granted. Sent by train to Norfolk Naval Base. January 1944 received orders assigning me to train to Norfolk Naval Base. January 1944 received orders assigning him to the U.S.S. Murphy DD-603. Board the Murphy at Brooklyn Navy Yard. After a brief stay and a shake down cruise, head for Ireland, and got his first taste of foreign soil. Major battles included D-Day invasion of Normandy and Operation Dragon, the invasion of Southern France. When the war in Europe was over his ship transited the Panama Canal and headed for Japan as the war in the Pacific came to a close.
ACTOR: One of the movie industry's famous "beach boy" actors, this native of Atlantic City, New Jersey became a Hollywood heartthrob as a star of the 1960 television show, "The Aquanauts". During his career he guest starred in about one hundred television shows and appeared in no less than twenty movies. The versatile actor could perform many different roles but he was most famous for his tough guy portrayals. He co-wrote and starred in the biker film "Hell's Angels 69". He also appeared in "True Grit", "Girls! Girls! Girls!" and "The Born Losers". From 1979 to 1987 he starred in the popular American soap opera "One Life to Live". He was also a successful songwriter with two of his country songs, "Just beyond the Moon" and "Every Time I Itch (I Wind up Scratchin' You)" becoming top ten hits. He died in Los Angeles, California. Cause of death: Cancer
Other Comments:
U.S.S. MURPHY DD-609 (during the years 1944/45)
Normandy Invasion: The veteran warship rejoined the fleet in time for the Normandy invasion. On 5 June 1944, Murphy departed Portland, England, assigned to the assault area off Vierville, France, better known as Omaha Beach. She remained there, giving fire support and conducting screen duty for the transports through mid-June, engaging in a gun duel with shore batteries 8 June, and repelling numerous German U-boat and torpedo attacks.
In July, Murphy steamed south to the Mediterranean, operating with Task Force 88, the Aircraft Carrier Force in "operation Dragoon", the invasion of southern France. She conducted fire support, plane guard, and screening duties during the landings and then departed for New York for overhaul in early September.
Saudi Arabia: The destroyer resumed operations in late 1944, joining Quincy at Norfolk to escort that ship carrying President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Malta and Great Bitter Lake, Egypt, Conferences. Upon arrival at Great Bitter Lake, Murphy was detached and ordered to Jidda, Arabia, to transport King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia and his party to the Conference. After transiting the Suez Canal, Murphy became the first United States warship to enter the harbor of Jidda. Murphy anchored on 11 February, and the royal party came aboard the next day. King Ibn Saud had not previously left his country and had never previously traveled by ship. A large canvas tent was constructed over the forecastle to accommodate the King's entourage of 48 and rugs were laid over all weather decks for the King to walk upon. A corral was built between the depth charge racks on the stern to hold sheep to be slaughtered for the King's meals. The destroyer got underway immediately with her valuable cargo settled in a tent on her forecastle and arrived Great Bitter Lake on the 15th.
With her passengers disembarked, the warship then sailed for New York for a minor yard period, joined an antisubmarine "killer" group on duty off New England and Nova Scotia, and then in May escorted one of the last convoys to Oran, Algeria, and back. On 2 June 1945, with war in the Atlantic won, Murphy entered the Boston Navy Yard for refit prior to assignment to the Pacific Fleet.
The veteran warship departed Boston 10 July, steamed via the Panama Canal to the west coast, and then on to Okinawa, arriving 9 September. Being assigned to the 5th Fleet on occupation duty in southern Japanese waters, she visited Nagasaki, Yokosuka, Wakayama, and Nagoya until departing Okinawa 21 November for the United States. She steamed via Saipan, Pearl Harbor, San Diego, and the Panama Canal, arriving at Charleston, South Carolina to prepare for inactivation. She decommissioned there 9 March 1946, and joined the Charleston Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was struck 1 November 1970, and sold for scrap 6 October 1972.
World War II/European-African-Middle Eastern Theater
From Month/Year
December / 1941
To Month/Year
September / 1945
Description The European-Mediterranean-Middle East Theater was a major theater of operations during the Second World War (between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946). The vast size of Europe, Mediterranean and Middle East theatre saw interconnected naval, land, and air campaigns fought for control of the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. The fighting in this theatre lasted from 10 June 1940, when Italy entered the war on the side of Germany, until 2 May 1945 when all Axis forces in Italy surrendered. However, fighting would continue in Greece – where British troops had been dispatched to aid the Greek government – during the early stages of the Greek Civil War.
The British referred to this theatre as the Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre (so called due to the location of the fighting and the name of the headquarters that controlled the initial fighting: Middle East Command) while the Americans called the theatre of operations the Mediterranean Theatre of War. The German official history of the fighting is dubbed 'The Mediterranean, South-East Europe, and North Africa 1939–1942'. Regardless of the size of the theatre, the various campaigns were not seen as neatly separated areas of operations but part of one vast theatre of war.
Fascist Italy aimed to carve out a new Roman Empire, while British forces aimed initially to retain the status quo. Italy launched various attacks around the Mediterranean, which were largely unsuccessful. With the introduction of German forces, Yugoslavia and Greece were overrun. Allied and Axis forces engaged in back and forth fighting across North Africa, with Axis interference in the Middle East causing fighting to spread there. With confidence high from early gains, German forces planned elaborate attacks to be launched to capture the Middle East and then to possibly attack the southern border of the Soviet Union. However, following three years of fighting, Axis forces were defeated in North Africa and their interference in the Middle East was halted. Allied forces then commenced an invasion of Southern Europe, resulting in the Italians switching sides and deposing Mussolini. A prolonged battle for Italy took place, and as the strategic situation changed in southeast Europe, British troops returned to Greece.
The theatre of war, the longest during the Second World War, resulted in the destruction of the Italian Empire and altered the strategic position of Germany resulting in numerous German divisions being deployed to Africa and Italy and total losses (including those captured upon final surrender) being over half a million. Italian losses, in the theatre, amount to around to 177,000 men with a further several hundred thousand captured during the process of the various campaigns. British losses amount to over 300,000 men killed, wounded, or captured, and total American losses in the region amounted to 130,000.
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