Lockbourne Army Air Base notice to C. Walder Parke about his golf tournament prize   Save
Charles Walder Parke WW2 Collection
Description: Letter to C. Walder Parke from the Lockbourne Army Air Base informing him that he won their golf tournament. The notice specifies that Parke should contact the Physical Training Office regarding the prize for first place. Parke had the lowest "net score" of the participants in the tournament. He served as a navigational instructor at Lockbourne for nearly a year before he was discharged from the army. 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_B01F26_001
Subjects: Golf; Sports tournaments; Awards; Parke, Charles Walder, 1924-1996
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)