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name
PARKS, John Henry - Date of
birth
10 March 1919 -
Age
25 - Place of
birth
Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio -
Hometown
Mill Creek, La Porte County, Indiana
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
35254924 -
Rank
Sergeant -
Function
Tank Commander -
Unit
B Company,
37th Tank Battalion,
4th Armored Division,
2nd Platoon
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
23 December 1944 - Place of
death
In the vicinity of Flatzbourhof, Luxembourg
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Luxembourg - Tablets of the Missing
Immediate family
-
Members
Matthew Parks (father)
Ella H. (Pickles) Parks (mother)
Marie E. Parks (sister)
Lester Parks (brother)
Milo E. Harness (halfbrother)
Florence G. Harness (halfsister)
More information
Sgt John H. Parks attended Union Township High School in Indianaand was employed at the Kingsbury Ordnance Plant.He enlisted at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana on 31 January 1942.
He was killed instantly as he stood in his turret. Only two members of Parks' crew survived.
After the battle, his company commander, Capt Jimmie Leach, searched for Sgt Parks destroyed tank. A formal report later described the investigation: “Captain James H. Leach, commanding officer of Company B, inspected inside of the tank by flashlight but could see no bodies, but the tank was completely burned. Nothing but ashes remained inside the hull.”
Source of information: André Koch, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com - Bill Warnock, www.archives.gov
– WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - 1920/1930/1940 Census / Parks Family Tree,
http://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/wwii/the-face-of-battle,
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, http://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/wwii/the-face-of-battle/