Hondo Army Air Field special orders discharging C. Walder Parke for promotion, January 14, 1944

Military orders from the U.S. Army Air Forces at Hondo Army Air Field discharging C. Walder Parke. This discharge was more for the sake of formal documentation than anything else, since Parke was only discharged as an enlisted man on January 14th so he could be appointed as a commissioned officer the very next day. The orders specify that Parke would be appointed as a 2nd Lieutenant. 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