|
Title: |
George Parker Collection |
|
Repository: |
Archives and Special Collections, University Libraries, The University of Akron
Phone: 330-972-7670 http://www.uakron.edu/libraries/archives |
|
Creator: |
The collection was donated by George Parker with the majority being donated by his children after his death. |
|
Dates: |
1936-2008 |
|
Quantity: |
18.25 cubic feet |
|
Abstract: |
George W. Parker served as a pilot of a B-26 Marauder with the 397th Bomb Group during World War II. He went on to serve a distinguished career in the United States Air Force and served three terms as a Missouri state representative. The collection consists of materials documenting the Second World War including mission reports, flight logs, diaries, notebooks, photographs, and publications. The collection also includes materials on various B-26 Marauder and 9th Air Force reunion groups, including the 397th Bomb Group Association, and the B-26 Marauder Historical Society, which Parker founded. |
|
Identification: |
100/33 |
|
Language: |
The records are in English |
George W. Parker, Sr. was born in Joplin, Missouri on May 16, 1923 to William McKinley "Mack" Parker and Eva Payne Parker. Although he spent part of his childhood in Washington state and Texas, he mostly grew up in Missouri where he attended public schools in Joplin and Nevada. In May 1940 he graduated from Nevada High School where he served as class president. Shortly after graduation Parker enlisted as a private in the Army Air Corps and was sworn in on July 8, 1940. In 1941 he studied airplane mechanics at the Air Corps Technical School at Chanute Field, Illinois and then attended flight school at the Army Air Force (AAF) Flying School in Lubbock, Texas throughout 1942. Parker rose to the rank of sergeant before receiving his pilot's wings in November that year. He was assigned to the B-26 Transition School at Tarrant Field in Fort Worth, Texas in January 1943 and flew one of ten early model Martin B-26 Marauders. Parker was assigned to the 1st Minimum Altitude Bomber-Torpedo Unit at Eglin Field, Florida and then to the 397th Bomb Group/596th Fighter Squadron at MacDill Field, Florida.
The 397th Bombardment Wing was originally organized on March 20, 1943 as the 397th Bombardment Group, a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization. The group's identification marking was a yellow diagonal band across both sides of the vertical tail of the plane. Activated on April 20, 1943 and equipped with the B-26 Marauder, it moved to Royal Air Force (RAF) Gosfield, England from March to April 1944 and joined the Ninth Air Force. Shortly after arrival, however, it was moved to RAF Rivenhall, an airfield in Essex, England. In addition to attacking Nazi V-weapon sites, operations were also carried out on bridges, coastal defenses, rail marshalling yards, and airfields. The group began flying missions into Germany in September 1943, attacking such targets as bridges, defended areas, and storage depots. During the Battle of the Bulge, the group attacked German communications helping to isolate the battlefield and was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation. On D-Day, the 397th was used to attack German strong points and support the fighting in Normandy, attacking fuel dumps and German strong points in particular. The group continued to support the Allied drive into Germany until April 1945, being stationed at Venlo, the Netherlands on VE-Day. The 397th returned to the United States during December 1945 and was inactivated on January 6, 1946.
During World War II, George Parker served in England and France with the 397th from February 1944 until he returned home on August 2, 1945 aboard the Queen Mary. As pilot of the B-26 Marauder nicknamed the "Missouri Mule II," Parker flew 62 combat missions in the European Theater of Operations. He severed numerous assignments including flight commander, group air tactical inspector, assistant group operations officer, group/station air inspector, and liaison officer to the 19th U.S. Army Corps. Parker participated in the D-Day invasion of Normandy at the Dunes of St. Martin de Varreville (Utah Beach) and later received the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with two silver clusters, and two Purple Hearts with one bronze cluster.
After the war Parker was assigned to an Orlando, Florida air base as an Aircraft Maintenance Control Officer and attended maintenance management at the AAF Special Staff School there. From 1946 to 1949 he served as an advisor/instructor for the U.S. Military Advisory Group to the Republic of China and attended aircraft controller school and squadron officers' courses at the Air Tactical School at Tyndall AFB in Florida. Parker worked at the Pentagon from 1950 to 1954 as intelligence staff officer for the Collection Branch of the Air Force, at which time he was promoted from major to captain. He was then promoted to serve as USAF Liaison Officer to the Joint Intelligence Objective Agency under the Joint Chiefs of Staff. From 1954 to 1955 Parker worked as operations officer for an F-89D jet aircraft squadron overseeing 75 pilots and radar observers at Ft. Snelling in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was then transferred to Ladd AFB in Alaska where he served as squadron commander from 1955 to 1958. From 1958 to 1961, Parker held the position of Associate Professor of Air Science and Commandant of Cadets at the Air Force ROTC at the University of Missouri and attended law courses at LaSalle Extension University in Chicago. After 21 years continuous service Parker retired from the Air Force in January 1961 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
After his retirement from the military Parker was employed in the insurance and real estate business and worked for a time as Civil Defense Director for the City of Columbia, Missouri. He then fulfilled his life-long goal and entered politics, serving as Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. In 1966, he became the first Republican ever elected to the Missouri House from Boone County. He was re-elected in 1968 and 1970 by large margins, serving three terms in the Missouri House of Representatives. During his time as state representative Parker served on house committees on commerce, municipal corporations, state institutions and properties, and on a special liaison committee to the Commission on Higher Education. He led efforts to update the legislature, county and state government and to make the Treasurer's Office more responsive to the needs of the people. In 1968 he received the Outstanding Freshman Legislator Award and the St. Louis Gold-Democrat's Meritorious Service Award and was also selected as one of the "50 Most Promising State Legislators in the U.S." by the Rutgers University Eagleton Institute of Politics. In 1972, Parker ran unsuccessfully for Missouri State Treasurer, but was appointed by Missouri Governor Christopher Samuel "Kit" Bond as Director to the State Office of Business Administration the following year. He then ran unsuccessfully for Boone County Court Presiding Judge in 1974 and for Boone County Collector in 1976. After losing the '76 election he retired from politics and spent time speaking at various engagements.
In 1942, George Parker married Lois Oberpriller of Houston, Texas, with whom he had four children: Peggy, Suzanne, George, Jr., and Della Jo. Parker graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland in 1952 and a Master's degree in Public Administration from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. He was involved in numerous civic affairs including PTA, the Unitarian church, Big Brothers, Jaycees, the American Legion, and Kiwanis Club. In 1988, he founded the B-26 Marauder Historical Society (B-26 MHS), the largest organization dedicated to preserving the memory of the Martin B-26 Marauder and the nearly 300,000 service personnel who were associated with the aircraft during World War II. He also founded the Grand Order of Pachyderms, a Republican group patterned after civic clubs with programs centered around government and politics. Parker died at his home on May 27, 2009 at the age of 86. His ashes were interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
The George Parker Collection consists of materials documenting the Second World War, especially the service of George W. Parker, Sr. and the 397th Bomb Group. This material includes mission reports, flight logs, diaries, notebooks, photographs, and publications. The collection also includes materials on various B-26 Marauder bomb groups and squadrons as well as B-26 and 9th Air Force reunion groups, especially the 397th Bomb Group Association. Finally, the collection contains a wealth of information on the founding and operation of the B-26 Marauder Historical Society (B26MHS).
Copyright restrictions may apply. Permission to reproduce or publish materials in this collection must be secured in writing from Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron.
No restrictions on access; except not available through interlibrary loan. Copyright restrictions may apply. Permission to reproduce or publish materials in this collection must be secured in writing from Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron.
Related Material: Related MaterialBuddies of the Ninth Air Force Association Newsletters Archives of the Ninth Air Force Association Henry C. Beck Jr. Collection 1928-1992 Rollin M. Winningham Papers, 1938-1995
Two folders of oversized documents were moved to map files
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
A VHS player is needed to play tapes in series VIII.
Donated by Suzie Parker Nichols upon the passing of George Parker.
[Identification of Item], George Parker Collection, Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio
The collection was donated by George Parker with the majority being donated by his children after his death.
This collection was processed by Ellen Mitchell in 2017.