Ernie Foucault's father, like many World War II veterans, didn't speak much about his time in the war.

Chief Leon Foucault spend 20 years active duty in the Navy, and 10 in the reserves, retiring as a Chief Boatswain's mate.But over his lifetime, Ernie Foucault, of Kresgeville, got some idea of his father's experiences aboard the USS Perry, a minesweeper, during World War II, and also his time in the Korean conflict."It's something that my dad never spoke of. I knew he had been in Pearl Harbor, but I didn't know what the actual circumstances were," he said.That is until about 15 years ago, when he learned that the Perry, and his father, narrowly escaped the bombardment of the harbor by Japanese forces on Dec. 7, 1941.Foucault had heard that the USS Perry was at Pearl Harbor previously. About 15 years ago, long after his father's death, he came across the account of a veteran who was on the Perry and had returned to Pearl Harbor late in life.The veteran recalled that the USS Perry was actually docked in the middle of the harbor, powering two other ships that were shut off at the time of the attack. According to the official U.S. Navy report, about one minute after the raid began, all machine guns were manned and opened fire at Japanese planes within range.Four planes were shot down within range.At least one and probably more of these planes can be credited to the Perry.Some time after the start of the raid, personnel on the after deck house of the Perry say a submarine partially surfaced, heading toward Middle Loch and swinging toward the moorings of the Medusa, Curtis and Vestal. The Perry and another ship fired shots and the submarine was sunk.Foucault said that he heard a story that a young lieutenant on board fainted with fear amid the situation, and a group of men had to step in to lead the ship to safety. One of them, he learned, was his father, Leon Foucault.Before retiring from the Navy, Foucault would see conflict in the Palauan Islands, where the Perry would become damaged by a bomb. He lost a thumb while placing charges to ultimately sink the ship. Shortly after, he married Ernie's mother. He would also return to the Pacific in the Korean conflict.The elder Foucault died in 1969."You hear that about a bunch of people in that era, they came back from overseas, and very little was talked about. I heard about it over the years, and especially as I got older, and paid more attention," he said.