FRED M. PERKINS, CDR, USN

Fred Perkins '06

Date of birth: June 3, 1887

Date of death: December 22, 1924

Age: 37

Lucky Bag

From the 1906 Lucky Bag:

Fred Milton Perkins

Salem, Oregon

"Widow," "Perk"

Tried baseball but was turned down on account of his youth. The youngest man in the class. At first would believe anything, but has grown quite foxy of late. Shaped like an old apple tree. Highly original; fasted four days, set his alarm clock for midnight, then ate six oranges and ten bananas. Champion of the tennis court football team. Wears his plebe clothes at times with a Buster Brown effect. Wants the Pacific station.

Buzzard (1); Class Color Committee; Socker Squad (1); President Anti-cigarette League of Oregon (6, 5), of U. S. N. A. Cigarette Club (4, 3, 2, 1).

Fred Milton Perkins

Salem, Oregon

"Widow," "Perk"

Tried baseball but was turned down on account of his youth. The youngest man in the class. At first would believe anything, but has grown quite foxy of late. Shaped like an old apple tree. Highly original; fasted four days, set his alarm clock for midnight, then ate six oranges and ten bananas. Champion of the tennis court football team. Wears his plebe clothes at times with a Buster Brown effect. Wants the Pacific station.

Buzzard (1); Class Color Committee; Socker Squad (1); President Anti-cigarette League of Oregon (6, 5), of U. S. N. A. Cigarette Club (4, 3, 2, 1).

Loss

Fred was lost on December 22, 1924 when the aircraft he was aboard crashed near San Diego. He was "gunnery officer for the Pacific Fleet" at the time.

He was survived by his wife and two children. He is buried in Oregon.

Navy Cross

From Hall of Valor:

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Commander Fred Milton Perkins, United States Navy, for distinguished service in the line of his profession as Force Engineer and later as Secretary of Cruises and Transport Force and temporarily as Chief of Staff during World War I.
Service: Navy
Division: Cruises and Transport Force

Army Distinguished Service Medal

From Hall of Valor:

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Commander Fred Milton Perkins, United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I, as Flag Secretary to the Commander, Cruiser and Transport Fleet. Commander Perkins' close cooperation with the Army authorities in the handling of troop ships contributed greatly to the successful outcome of our oversea operations.
General Orders: War Department, General Orders No. 116 (1919)
Service: Navy
Division: Cruiser and Transport Fleet

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.

The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.

The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.