DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Philip H. Parker Post No. 2438, V.F.W., right here in Matagorda County. Now, every good story has a starting point, and this one goes all the way back to 1899 — the year the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States was founded.
The VFW traces its roots to military veterans doing something that has never gone out of style: fighting for the rights and benefits owed to them for their service. That's the trunk of the tree. What happened in Bay City, Texas, in 1940 — well, that's one of its branches, and it's worth following.
It started at the old bandstand on the Courthouse Square. July 21, 1940. You can almost picture it — summer air, the faint sound of a town going about its business, and a handful of men gathering with something serious on their minds.
That initial meeting planted the seed. Then, on November 24, 1940, Bay City VFW Post No. 2438 was officially organized at a VFW meeting held in Texas City. The official ceremony moved to Bay City's own City Hall Auditorium, where World War I veteran Colonel Wyatt O.
Selkirk — born in 1881, and he'd live all the way to 1971 — presided as the first Post Commander over eighteen charter members. Eighteen men. That's your foundation.
The Post didn't stay put for long in those early years. They met at the courthouse, the Boney Building, the I.O.O.F. Hall, and the U.S.O.
Building. A post on the move, you might say, carrying its purpose from one room to the next, waiting for a place to truly call home. That home came in 1948.
Land owned by Herbert and Allie Parker, out at Bucks Bayou and Hamman Roads. And right along with that first home came a name — a name the Post chose to carry in honor of the Parkers' son. His name was Captain Philip Hackley Parker, Army Air Forces, born in 1920.
And here is where the story gets quiet. On March 23, 1945, Captain Parker was piloting his P-51D Mustang over Hsiang Ch'eng, China. Japanese ground fire brought him down.
He was killed in action. He was twenty-four years old — no, I won't do that math out loud, because the numbers speak well enough on their own: 1920 to 1945, and a P-51D Mustang over China, and a young man who did not come home. The Post took his name.
Philip H. Parker Post No. 2438. That is how you honor someone.
Out at that first home on Parker's land, a surplus structure was moved all the way from Camp Hulen in Palacios and turned into a meeting hall and canteen. Not fancy, but it was theirs. Beginning in 1954, the Post found itself moving again, meeting in several locations across the years, until a new Post home was dedicated on North Highway 60 in 1980.
That building stood as the anchor of the community's veterans for twenty years — until the year 2000, when fire destroyed the building and everything in it. Everything. The Post came back.
A new building was dedicated in 2001, because that is what this Post does. And while all that building and rebuilding and moving was going on, the work never stopped. The Ladies Auxiliary, founded in 1947, has been part of this story from nearly the beginning.
Together, the Post and the Auxiliary have aided needy veterans, supported current military personnel, run student essay contests and scholarships, and provided financial support to public institutions, law enforcement, and the charitable work of other organizations. There is one more thing worth saying slowly. Post No. 2438 has helped identify the graves of more than three thousand veterans in Matagorda County.
Three thousand. That is not a small number. That is the work of people who understand, down to their bones, what service costs and what it deserves — in life, and after.
Post No. 2438 continues to provide patriotism and encouragement to its community. Started at a bandstand on a courthouse square. Named for a young captain who flew a P-51D over China and never came back.
Still standing. Still working. That's the story the marker tells, and it lands right where it should.
What the marker says
THE VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES (VFW), FOUNDED IN 1899, TRACES ITS ROOTS TO MILITARY VETERANS SECURING RIGHTS AND BENEFITS FOR THEIR SERVICE. FOLLOWING AN INITIAL JUL. 21, 1940 MEETING AT THE OLD BANDSTAND ON THE COURTHOUSE SQUARE, BAY CITY VFW POST NO. 2438 ORGANIZED AT A NOV. 24, 1940 VFW MEETING IN TEXAS CITY. IN BAY CITY’S CITY HALL AUDITORIUM, WORLD WAR I VETERAN COL. WYATT O. SELKIRK (1881-1971) PRESIDED AS THE FIRST POST COMMANDER OF 18 CHARTER MEMBERS. THE POST ALSO HELD MEETINGS AT THE COURTHOUSE, THE BONEY BUILDING, I.O.O.F. HALL AND THE U.S.O. BUILDING. POST NO. 2438 FOUND ITS FIRST HOME IN 1948, ON LAND OWNED BY HERBERT AND ALLIE PARKER AT BUCKS BAYOU AND HAMMAN ROADS. THE POST ALSO CHANGED ITS NAME TO HONOR THE PARKERS’ SON, ARMY AIR FORCES CAPT. PHILIP HACKLEY PARKER (1920-1945). PARKER WAS KILLED IN ACTION BY JAPANESE GROUND FIRE WHILE PILOTING HIS P-51D MUSTANG OVER HSIANG CH’ENG, CHINA, ON MAR. 23, 1945. A SURPLUS STRUCTURE MOVED FROM CAMP HULEN IN PALACIOS BECAME A MEETING HALL AND CANTEEN. BEGINNING IN 1954, THE POST AGAIN MET IN SEVERAL LOCATIONS UNTIL A NEW POST HOME WAS DEDICATED ON NORTH HWY. 60 IN 1980. THIS BUILDING AND ALL CONTENTS WERE DESTROYED BY FIRE IN 2000, AND A NEW BUILDING WAS DEDICATED IN 2001. THE POST AND ITS LADIES AUXILIARY (FOUNDED 1947) HAVE SUPPORTED THE COMMUNITY IN SEVERAL WAYS. LONG-STANDING ACTIVITIES INCLUDE AID FOR NEEDY VETERANS, SUPPORT OF CURRENT MILITARY PERSONNEL, STUDENT ESSAY CONTESTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS, AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS, LAW ENFORCEMENT, AND CHARITABLE WORK OF OTHER ORGANIZATIONS. THE POST HAS ALSO HELPED IDENTIFY THE GRAVES OF MORE THAN 3,000 VETERANS IN MATAGORDA COUNTY. POST NO. 2438 CONTINUES TO PROVIDE PATRIOTISM AND ENCOURAGEMENT TO ITS COMMUNITY.