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Contact Info
Home Town Avalon, PA
Last Address Pompano Beach, FL
Date of Passing Oct 15, 1989
Location of Interment U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery and Columbarium (VLM) - Annapolis, Maryland
Wall/Plot Coordinates Unknown
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
US Navy Vice Admiral. Parker graduated from the United States Naval Academy in
1925. By the time the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Parker was a Lt. Commander,
the Commanding Officer of the Parrott a World War I class destroyer that was
part of the Asian Fleet. While Commander of the Parrott, Parker was awarded the
Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism and for extreme disregard of personal
safety when his command delivered a determined attack with torpedoes and gunfire
during action with the enemy on the night of January 24th to the 25th, 1942. The
following month he also engaged the enemy in the Badoeng Straits off the Island
of Ball, Netherlands, East Indies and was awarded a second Navy Cross for
distinguished service and heroism in a fierce battle with the Japanese. In
addition to the Navy Cross for the battle of the 24th and 25th Parker received
the Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity as Commander Destroyer
Division Fifty nine. He received a third Navy Cross for leadership of Destroyer
Division Fifteen aboard the Destroyer USS Cushing during an engagement with the
Japanese naval forces near Savo Island on the night of November 12, 1942. The
force to which he was attached engaged at close quarters and defeated a superior
enemy force. From November of 1945 to April of 1946 he commanded a destroyer
squadron and participated in the Allied occupation of both Korea and North
China. Later that year he was an observer and commander at Bikini Atoll during
Operation Crossroads, which was designed to test the effectiveness of atomic
weapons on naval vessels. By 1947 he was now a captain and after commanding the
Newport News, he was named deputy chief of the Atomic Support Agency. In 1952
Parker was promoted to Rear Admiral and in 1960 promoted to Vice Admiral and was
appointed the deputy director of the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff at
Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. In 1962 he was named assistant director of
the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency which advises the President and the
Secretary of State on arms control policy. He held that post until 1963 when he
retired. After retirement Parker and his wife spent much of their time sailing
and he was chosen the commodore of the Lighthouse Point Yacht Club in Pompano
Beach, Florida.
Guadalcanal Campaign (1942-43)/Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
From Month/Year
October / 1942
To Month/Year
October / 1942
Description The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, 26 October 1942, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Santa Cruz or in Japanese sources as the Battle of the South Pacific, was the fourth carrier battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II and the fourth major naval engagement fought between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy during the lengthy and strategically important Guadalcanal campaign. In similar fashion to the battles of Coral Sea, Midway, and the Eastern Solomons, the ships of the two adversaries were rarely in direct visual range of each other. Instead, almost all attacks by both sides were mounted by carrier or land-based aircraft.
In an attempt to drive Allied forces from Guadalcanal and nearby islands and end the stalemate that had existed since September 1942, the Imperial Japanese Army planned a major ground offensive on Guadalcanal for 20–25 October 1942. In support of this offensive, and with the hope of engaging Allied naval forces, Japanese carriers and other large warships moved into a position near the southern Solomon Islands. From this location, the Japanese naval forces hoped to engage and decisively defeat any Allied (primarily U.S.) naval forces, especially carrier forces, that responded to the ground offensive. Allied naval forces also hoped to meet the Japanese naval forces in battle, with the same objectives of breaking the stalemate and decisively defeating their adversary.
The Japanese ground offensive on Guadalcanal was under way in the Battle for Henderson Field while the naval warships and aircraft from the two adversaries confronted each other on the morning of 26 October 1942, just north of the Santa Cruz Islands. After an exchange of carrier air attacks, Allied surface ships were forced to retreat from the battle area with one carrier sunk and another heavily damaged. The participating Japanese carrier forces, however, also retired because of high aircraft and aircrew losses plus significant damage to two carriers. Although a tactical victory for the Japanese in terms of ships sunk and damaged, the loss of many irreplaceable, veteran aircrews would prove to be a long term strategic advantage for the Allies, whose aircrew losses in the battle were relatively low and could be quickly replaced. The high cost of the battle for the Japanese prevented their carrier forces from further significant involvement in the Guadalcanal campaign.
