Perry was assigned to the Pacific Torpedo Flotilla and based at Mare Island until the United States entered World War I. Her operations took her as far north as Alaska and south along the coast of Mexico. In the fall of 1908, combined fleet maneuvers took her to Hawaii.

A highlight of the torpedo boat destroyer’s career came during the earthquake that struck San Francisco on 18 April 1906 and the resulting fire which devastated the city. For four sleepless days after they were awakened by severe rolling and pitching of their ship before dawn on 18 April, Perry’s indefatigable crew labored ashore to save the western metropolis by fighting fires, patrolling districts where stores, warehouses and homes were threatened by looters and providing medical aid to countless injured men, women and children.

When the United States entered World War I, Perry patrolled off the California Coast until steaming to Panama where, beginning 28 July 1917, she guarded the entrance to the vital canal. On 30 May 1918, she sailed for Key West, Florida for patrol duty in the Florida Keys.

On 29 January 1919, after the Armistice, she got under way for the Delaware Bay and remained at the Philadelphia Navy Yard until decommissioning on 2 July. Perry’s name was struck from the Navy List on 15 September 1919. She was sold for scrapping 5 January 1920.

Source: Naval History & Heritage Command including the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.