Description: Photograph of WWII pilot Ray Graves. Graves was the pilot on the B-17 that was shot down over France with C. Walder Parke on board. Charles Walder Parke was born on July 28, 1924, and grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio. He enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces in 1942 intending to be a pilot during WWII, but spent most of his military career as a navigator on B-17 Flying Fortresses in the 94th Bombardment Group. Parke earned two Bronze Stars, an Air Medal with several Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his successful bombing missions, including some over Berlin. He is best known for being on board a B-17 which was shot down over France by German planes on June 25, 1944, during a non-combat mission. The crew managed to make an emergency landing, and everyone inside survived. After the war, Parke founded the Cleveland-based Laurel Industries Inc., which became a prominent supplier of antimony oxide to the plastics industry. He died of Lou-Gehrig’s Disease on September 15, 1996, at the age of 72. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MSS1510_B02F06_001_01
Subjects: Graves, Raymond J.; Bomber pilots
 

Description: Photograph of C. Walder Parke with his crew's pilot, Ray Graves, and bombardier, Al Silva. All three were aboard the B-17 "Mission Mistress" when it went down over northern France. Charles Walder Parke was born on July 28, 1924, and grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio. He enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces in 1942 intending to be a pilot during WWII, but spent most of his military career as a navigator on B-17 Flying Fortresses in the 94th Bombardment Group. Parke earned two Bronze Stars, an Air Medal with several Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his successful bombing missions, including some over Berlin. He is best known for being on board a B-17 which was shot down over France by German planes on June 25, 1944, during a non-combat mission. The crew managed to make an emergency landing, and everyone inside survived. After the war, Parke founded the Cleveland-based Laurel Industries Inc., which became a prominent supplier of antimony oxide to the plastics industry. He died of Lou-Gehrig’s Disease on September 15, 1996, at the age of 72. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MSS1510_B03F02_014
Subjects: Flight crews; Parke, Charles Walder, 1924-1996; Graves, Raymond J.; Silva, Allen E.; United States Air Force; Military uniforms; Air pilots, Military
 

Description: Photograph shows the site of Major John Mills grave in Greenville, Ohio. Mills was a part of General Anthony Wayne's soldiers in the Revolutionary War. In late 1793, Wayne ordered the construction of Fort Greene Ville, named for his friend and comrade in the American Revolution Nathaniel Greene. Wayne's army was marching against Native Americans along the Maumee River. Wayne sought to punish the natives for St. Clair's Defeat in 1791. The fortification was located roughly five miles north of Fort Jefferson at what is now Greenville, Ohio. The fort had walls that were ten feet high, and the stockade enclosed roughly fifty acres of land. Wayne used Fort Greene Ville as his encampment during the winter of 1793-1794 and as a staging area and supply depot for his attacks against the natives in 1794. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B01F05_015_001
Subjects: Cemeteries; Graves; Memorial rites and ceremonies
Places: Greenville (Ohio); Darke County (Ohio)