Robert Sherman "Bob" Halperin (January 26, 1908 – May 8, 1985), nicknamed "Buck", was an American Star class sailor, and

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

bronze medalist A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

and

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

gold medalist A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

. He was also a college and

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL)

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

quarterback, one of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

's most-decorated World War II heroes, co-founder of

Lands' End Lands' End is an American clothing and home decor retailer founded in 1963 and based in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, that specializes in casual clothing, luggage, and home furnishings. The majority of the company's business is conducted through mail o ...

, and chairman of Commercial Light Company.

Early and personal life

Halperin was born in Chicago, Illinois, and was Jewish. His father, Aaron, immigrated to the United States from

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

in the 1890s, and died in 1964. His mother, Julia, died in 1976. He and his wife Margaret Stralka raised three sons, Thomas, Patrick and Daniel, the latter was Robert's biological son. He lived in the Near North Side of Chicago, and

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land a ...

Football career

In high school, he played football for Oak Park High School. He was also captain of the football team. In college, Halperin first played football for Notre Dame, as a quarterback under legendary coach

Knute Rockne Knut (Norwegian and Swedish), Knud (Danish), or Knútur (Icelandic) is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is used whi ...

. He then played football for the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, from which he graduated in 1932. After graduating college, in 1932 he played professional football as a quarterback for the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

in the National Football League, under coach

Benny Friedman Benjamin Friedman (March 18, 1905 – November 24, 1982) was an American football player and coach, and athletic administrator. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Friedman played college football as a halfback and quarterback for the University of ...

. He later coached football at St. Patrick High School.

Navy career

Halperin was one of Chicago`s most decorated sailors in World War II. He joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

on March 19, 1942, ultimately rising to the level of

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

. He trained first under boxer

Gene Tunney James Joseph Tunney (May 25, 1897 – November 7, 1978) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1915 to 1928. He held the world heavyweight title from 1926 to 1928, and the American light heavyweight title twice between 1922 and 1923 ...

, and then in a top-secret program in 1942 at

Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...

in Little Creek, Virginia, along with fellow NFL football players Phil Bucklew and John Tripson and seven others who made up the first class of what became known as the Navy Scouts & Raiders, a predecessor of the

Navy Seals The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the United States Navy, U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command, Naval Special Wa ...

. The three former NFL players were among 1,000 NFL players who served in the military for the U.S. during World War II. The job of the trainees was to locate designated landing beaches at night for amphibious landings, note any obstacles, and guide the attacking troops and their landing craft. War correspondent William H. Stoneman wrote of Halperin, "His job is to mark beaches for the assault, infantry, a daring, intricate job, calling for as much brain as courage, and barrels of both." He was in charge of 14 scout boats, the first to arrive in France in the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

. Halperin saw action in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

(including during

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, and the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. He was decorated for gallantry with the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

, the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

, and two

Bronze Stars The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

, as well as the highest honor of the Nationalist Chinese government. In the North Africa invasion in November 1942, he sailed his scout ship from seven miles off-shore in complete darkness to

French Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco (french: Protectorat français au Maroc; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في المغرب), also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco between 1912 to 1956. The prote ...

, located and marked landing beaches with landing signals, guided assault troops to their targets while being

strafe Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such ...

d by enemy planes, and became the first American in the invasion to capture two of the enemy when he personally captured two officers. In recognition of his efforts, including his extraordinary heroism, skill, courage, and fearless devotion to duty, he received a presidential citation and the Navy Cross. He was promoted to lieutenant commander for his actions in the assault on

Scoglitti Scoglitti ( scn, Scugghitti) is a fishing village and hamlet () of Vittoria, a municipality in the Province of Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. In 2011 it had a population of 4,175. History Scoglitti found a niche in history after being selected by the All ...

on the southeastern coast of Sicily in July–August 1943. During the

Normandy Invasion Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norma ...

of the

Cherbourg Peninsula The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; nrf, Cotentîn ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its w ...

, in June 1944 he guided the first two waves of

assault troops Shock troops or assault troops are formations created to lead an attack. They are often better trained and equipped than other infantry, and expected to take heavy casualties even in successful operations. "Shock troop" is a calque, a loose tra ...

to the assault beaches, against entrenched strong opposition, and saved two men from drowning. The ''Chicago Tribune'' notes he was "one of the first Americans to go ashore in France—perhaps, the first—on D-Day." For his exceptionally meritorious performance of duty, and his "cool judgment and unusual ability", he was awarded a Bronze Star. Order of the Cloud and Banner star

He was commanding officer of U.S. Naval Unit Six, from December 1944 to September 1945, in secret guerrilla action against the Japanese behind enemy lines in

Fukien Province Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

, China. During that time, his team of Americans trained 2,500 Chinese guerrillas to fight the Japanese, planned and executed operations resulting in the killing of 1,300 enemy troops and the destruction of tons of their shipping, and he assisted in the rescue of 16 U.S. fliers. While out-numbered and facing an enemy with superior equipment, he attacked the enemy with ambushes and in pitched battles, significantly depleting their forces. He was located in

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

Kunming Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...

, Camp 6, Hua'an,

Zhangzhou Zhangzhou (), alternately romanized as Changchow, is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and surrounding the prefec ...

Gulangyu The Gulangyu, Gulang Island or Kulangsu is a pedestrian-only island off the coast of Xiamen, Fujian Province in southeastern China. A UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, the island is about in area, and is reached by an 8-minute ferry ride fro ...

, and

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. He was granted a

Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

in lieu of a second Bronze Medal, for "distinguishing himself by exceptionally meritorious conduct. For distinguishing himself "by gallantry and intrepidity", he was awarded a Silver Star. In addition, the Nationalist Chinese government awarded him the Yun Hui "Cloud Banner", its highest honor.

Sailing career

Halperin, sailed for the

Chicago Yacht Club The Chicago Yacht Club is located in Chicago, Illinois. "CYC" is well known as being the Organizing Authority for the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac held each July. CYC also organizes dozens of other sailboat races and regattas throughout t ...

and the Southern Lake Michigan Fleet. He won the North American Star Championship in 1959. He won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

for the United States in the Star class (mixed two-person

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open wat ...

) at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

in the

Bay of Naples A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

in Italy, at the age of 52, together with William Parks. Their yacht was the ''Shrew II''. In 1963, he won a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

along with Richard Stearns at the

Sao Paulo, Brazil SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S. ...

, sailing the ''Ninotchka''. At the World Championships, the names of the crew whose yacht has the best total score are engraved on the Buck Halperin Trophy, named after him. Halperin was inducted into the

Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame The Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame, located in the Hawthorne Race Course, in Stickney/Cicero, near Chicago, honors sports greats associated with the Chicago metropolitan area. It was founded in 1979 as a trailer owned by the Olympia Brewing Compan ...

in 1989.

Business career

In business, Halperin became an executive of and rose to become Chairman of Commercial Light Company, a large electrical contractor and engineering business which his father had founded in 1915 and for which did electrical work in many Chicago buildings. He became the company's President in 1959, and Chairman in the 1960s. The company was involved in projects at the

John Hancock Center The John Hancock Center is a 100-story, 1,128-foot supertall skyscraper located in Chicago, Illinois. Located in the Magnificent Mile district, the building was officially renamed 875 North Michigan Avenue in 2018. The skyscraper was designed ...

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, ...

, and

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Wh ...

. He also started the company

, in the Spring of 1963, with fellow sailor Richard Stearns, Halperin's close friend

Gary Comer Gary Campbell Comer (December 10, 1927 – October 4, 2006) was the founder of mail order clothing retailer Lands' End.Dennis Hevesi"Gary C. Comer, 78, Founder of Lands’ End, Dies,"''New York Times'', October 6, 2006. Early life Born on the Sout ...

, and two of Stearns' employees.

Death

Halperin died May 8, 1985, in

, at the age of 77. His body is at rest at Arlington National Cemetery with that of his wife.

References

External links

''Scouts and Raiders: the Navy's first special warfare commandos''
John B. Dwyer, Praeger, , 1993 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Halperin, Robert 1908 births 1985 deaths Sportspeople from Chicago Sportspeople from Palm Springs, California Burials at Arlington National Cemetery American male sailors (sport) Sailors at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Star Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in sailing Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States American chief executives Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Wisconsin Badgers football players Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) players United States Navy officers Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) Recipients of the Silver Star Jewish American sportspeople American football quarterbacks Players of American football from Illinois 20th-century American businesspeople Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in sailing American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Sailors at the 1963 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century American Jews Military personnel from California Military personnel from Illinois