From good old Wikipedia.
A Clemson-class destroyer named after North Pole explorer Robert Peary, launched in Philadelphia and commissioned 22Oct1922, serving whole career in the Far East from 1922-1942.
This ship sure had a short and hard World War II career.
The USS Peary was at Cavite, Philippines when Pearl harbor was attacked and was caught in a raid which practically destroyed the entire base Dec. 10th. The Peary was tied up at a pier and received one bomb hit, killing eight sailors.
On Dec. 26th, there was another attack and several bombs exploded near the Peary, but no damage.
Dec. 27th, the ship was by Negros Island and camouflaged fortunately, as five patrol bombers passed overhead without seeing it.
The Peary left that night and was spotted the next morning and shadowed by one Japanese bomber until it was joined by three others and attacked. Five hundred pound bombs were dropped, but missed. Two torpedoes were launched just 500 yards from the Peary which immediately backed one engine and the torpedoes barely missed. Seconds later, two more torpedoes missed the stern by just ten yards.
Quite a Story, But It's Not Over Yet. --GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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