DUANE
Duane's take
Here's the story as the official marker tells it — and friend, this one earns every word. We're in Polk County, talking about Lt. Col.
James M. Parker Jr. Born in Houston, raised right here in Livingston, young James Parker went off to Lon Morris Junior College and then Texas A&M University.
Could've settled into a quiet life after that. He did not. He enlisted in the U.S.
Army Air Corps, and his first assignment had him flying anti-submarine patrols along the Pacific coast. Now, that alone is a chapter. But the chapter James Parker was about to write was something else entirely.
When the United States entered World War II, Parker volunteered — volunteered, mind you — for the Doolittle Raid. The marker calls it what it was: a secret mission. The first attack on the Japanese mainland.
April 1942. Parker climbs aboard a B-25 called the Whirling Dervish, flying as co-pilot with Crew Number Nine. They called themselves that — Crew Nine.
And they flew into history. The bombing mission on Japan was successfully completed. Then the hard part.
Low on gas, the crew bailed out over China and were taken into Chinese custody. Parker eventually made it back to the United States. And if you think the story ends there, it does not.
He recovered from malaria and returned to duty, serving in the U.S., Africa, and Europe before retiring in 1947, decorated more than once over. Born in Houston. Raised in Livingston.
Flew with Crew Nine on the Whirling Dervish. Some towns raise people who just flat out refuse to stay on the ground.
What the marker says
Born in Houston and raised in Livingston, James Parker attended Lon Morris Junior College and Texas A&M University. He then enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps, with his first assignment to fly anti-submarine patrols along the Pacific coast. As the U.S. entered WWII, Parker volunteered for the Doolittle Raid, the secret mission which was the first attack on the Japanese mainland. In April 1942, aboard Whirling Dervish with Crew #9, co-pilot Parker and the B-25 crew successfully completed their bombing mission on Japan. Low on gas, the crew bailed out and were taken into Chinese custody. Lt. Parker returned to the U.S. and, after recovering from malaria, returned to duty and served in the U.S., Africa and Europe, retiring in 1947 with numerous decorations. (2019)