Shoremede Hotel postcard   Save
Charles Walder Parke WW2 Collection
Description: Postcard with photograph of the Shoremede Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. C. Walder Parke and his wife stayed here during Parke's military leave shortly after he returned from his tour of duty. One of the upper windows is circled in black marker on this photograph, indicating the room in which the couple stayed. After checking in at the redistribution center in Miami Beach, Parke was assigned to Lockbourne Air Base in Columbus, Ohio as a navigational instructor. 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_B03F04_001
Subjects: Hotels; Leave of absence; Parke, Charles Walder, 1924-1996
Places: Miami Beach (Florida); Miami-Dade County (Florida)