Marvin James Perrett

Marvin James Perrett, proud New Orleanian and longtime writer and public speaker on New Orleans history and the role of the Coast Guard in World War II, died Sunday, May 6, 2007, in his home. He was 81. He is survived by his daughter, Melissa Perrett Cook, son-in-law Edwin Cook, M.D., and grandchildren, Lindsay Shepherd Cook and Andrew Haynes Cook of Chicago, IL. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 53 years, Edith Shepherd Perrett. Mr. Perrett was born and raised in New Orleans, where he attended St. Aloysius and Warren Easton High School. During World War II, he served in the Coast Guard as coxswain of a New Orleans-made Higgins landing craft. After the war he returned to New Orleans and a successful career in insurance and real estate. In the 1980s he published two books of poetry and photographs devoted to landmarks of his beloved New Orleans - ""Nostalgia: Lifestyles of Old New Orleans'' and ""More Nostalgia.'' In the course of promoting his books and paying close attention to city landmarks past and present, he realized that New Orleans lacked a suitable monument to shipbuilder Andrew Jackson Higgins, and on November 26, 1986, he wrote a letter to Mayor Sidney Barthelemy (followed by letters to various other politicians) to begin his efforts to rectify this situation. His letter stated, in part:""I would hope some day to visit an appropriate museum dedicated to Mr. Higgins, the men and women who built the boats and those who served aboard the boats...Surely, there must be an old LCVP (landing craft vehicle personnel) or a PT-Boat available somewhere. I have little doubt that we could fill a room with supporting photographs, movie films, written articles or borrowed data concerning any vessels on display...As a former Coxswain of an LCVP and having participated in the D-Day landing at Normandy, Southern France, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, I would welcome such a memorial to this part of New Orleans' historical past. I was proud to have served aboard the U.S. Coast Guard assault transport BAYFIELD that carried thirty of these landing craft on her decks and davits...To think that these simple watercraft were made on City Park Avenue and tested in the Industrial Canal and Lake Pontchartrain is still difficult to conceive. And yet - they were seen and used all over the world, though departed New Orleans by railroad flatcars. I would be pleased to assist in making this project a reality...if you conclude it has merit.'' In the course of his efforts, he met Dr. Stephen Ambrose, located an operational LCVP and coordinated a simulation of the D-Day invasion on Pontchartrain Beach for UNO'S Eisenhower Center on June 6, 1992, at which event was announced the intention to build a D-Day Museum in New Orleans that opened eight years later. The replica Higgins boat built for the museum bears the numbers of the boat that he piloted at Normandy and lost at Iwo Jima, PA33-21. In his final years, he traveled the world giving talks about the contributions of the U.S. Coast Guard and the New Orleans-made Higgins boat to the success of World War II. He also appeared in numerous documentaries, including ""Secrets of the Dead: D-Day'' and ""D-Day: A Call to Courage,'' and returned to France in June 2004 as a guest of the French government for the 60th anniversary of D-Day, where he was one of 100 U.S. veterans inducted into the French Legion of Honor with the rank of Chevalier. He was a recipient of the Coast Guard's Distinguished Public Service Award, its highest civilian honor, and was a member of the Coast Guard Combat Veterans Association, the USS Bayfield Veterans Association and the Warren Easton Alumni Hall of Fame. He was also a member of Munholland United Methodist Church and the St. Martin's Episcopal School Dads' Club during his daughter's school years. He left his family and friends a lifetime of colorful stories, the lesson of how much joy can be added to life by talking to strangers and the lesson of D-Day itself -- that much can be accomplished when lots of people work together on a common goal. All who are fighting for the recovery of New Orleans should take inspiration from his lessons. A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, June 9, 2007 at 10:00 a.m. at the NATIONAL WORLD WAR II MUSEUM, 945 Magazine Street. In lieu of flowers, donations preferred to the Warren Easton Charter Foundation (P.O. Box 19500, New Orleans, LA 70179), the Coast Guard Foundation (860-535-0786), or the charity of your choice.