F1c George Ernest Perkins

George Ernest Perkins was born Oct. 23, 1916 in Rhode Island. His mother, Mae Duffy Perkins, was a homemaker and his father, Ernest Perkins, a fireman. The father was an English immigrant.

The 1925 state census and 1930 U.S. Census said George and his brother, William H., who was younger by two years, were boarders at homes in East Providence and then North Providence, Rhode Island. George attended Cranston High School southwest of the capital before he enlisted in the Navy in February 1936.

He joined the crew of the U.S.S. Arizona in October 1939 and was a pitcher on the ship’s baseball team, which competed against teams from other ships. 

Mr. Perkins was a fireman first class on the Arizona when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.

A memorial service paid tribute to him in February 1942 at All Saints Memorial Church in Providence.

Sources: the Cranston (Rhode Island) Herald; Rhode Island birth index; Census; father’s obituary; military registration card; At ‘Em Arizona newsletter of April 6, 1940. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.