24 Jun 2002 Woody Parker graduated from The Citadel in 1965. He was shot down in April 1968, and listed as missing in action until 1998 or 99. His remains were recovered and now rest in Arlington National Cemetery. God bless him. Terry Seay 772 Willow Lake Rd, Charleston, SC 29412 terryseay@wspan.com

 

07 Dec 2003 I have worn Major Parker's MIA bracelet since 1970. I cannot seem to give it up. I want his parents to know that I continue to wear it because it keeps me in balance ... whenever I believe life has become difficult I simply look at my wrist and see his name and remember his sacifice ... my life is not difficult at all!! I have been attempting to reach his partents but have been unsuccessful to date ... I just want them to know ... that their son has been a sense of strength and hope to me for over thirty years! Tom Brennan tjbrennanjr@netscape.net

 

5 Dec 2004 I served under Major Parker's father, Colonel Woodrow W. Parker Jr., US Army, in the early 70's and saw first hand the anguish on a father's face caused by what happened to so many in Vietnam. I wore Major Parker's MIA bracelet for years and would just like to say that he will not be forgotten. Gary L. Cole Major, US Army Retired 508 Cedar Cove, Nashville, Tn 37209 garyleecole@comcast.net

 

Notes from The Virtual Wall On April 24, 1968, then-LtCol Bobby G. Vinson (pilot) and 1stLt Woodrow W. Parker (WSO) launched Da Nang Airbase, South Vietnam, lead in a flight of two F-4D Phantoms on a night strike mission against a storage area near Van Loc, some 10 miles northwest of Dong Hoi in North Vietnam. Vinson and Parker were in F-4D tail number 66-7541. As the flight approached the target area Vinson advised his wingman that he, Vinson, was beginning a descent to visually acquire the target and to drop flares to illuminate it. Shortly thereafter, the wingman sighted a fireball on the ground and was unable to contact his lead by radio. No parachutes were observed, nor was an emergency radio signal detected. However, given the possibility that the two safely ejected from the aircraft they were listed as Missing in Action. Hostile threats in the area precluded airborne or ground search and rescue operations. In April 1992, a joint U.S.-Vietnam team interviewed several local informants in a village near the location of the loss. Three informants turned over human remains and survival-related items that had been collected at the crash site years earlier. In July of 1992, a second joint U.S.-Vietnam team returned to the site and recovered aircraft wreckage and crew-related equipment. A third joint team excavated the crash site during Aug-Sep 1993 and recovered aircraft wreckage, life support equipment, and skeletal fragments. Based on anthropological analysis of the remains and other evidence, the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory Hawaii confirmed that the remains were those of LtCol Vinson and 1stLt Parker.

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