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Taps, Present Arms
John
E. "Jack" Parks
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired)
John E. "Jack" Parks, 77, died October 13, 2006, after a
long illness related to Agent Orange exposure in Viet Nam.
Jack began firing a rifle when
he was seven years old and attended the Camp Perry matches as a child
when his father fired with the Kansas State pistol team. He was on
the winning 1947 Junior NRA rifle championship team from his high
school, Stephen F. Austin, in El Paso, Texas. While in college, he
continued to compete in NRA rifle matches and he shot with the Army
Rifle team at Camp Perry from 1955 to 1960.
Jack was assigned to the U.S.
Army Advanced Marksmanship Unit at Fort Benning, Georgia, from
January 1959 to August 1960 where he won and placed in numerous
matches. His wife, Anne Parks, noted that one of the awards Jack was
most proud of wearing on his dress blue uniform was the President's
Hundred brassard. His wife also noted that he was equally proud
of his gold U. S.
Army Distinguished Rifleman Badge, which was awarded to him in 1959.
Jack was at his best when
firing in National Infantry Trophy Team (Rattle Battle) matches and
was on the winning National Infantry Trophy Team in 1956, and 1958.
In 1957 and 1958 he was on the winning Army 10-man rifle team at the
National Matches.
Jack reluctantly left the
USAAMU rifle team, as a military career choice, to return to the MP
Corps. After retiring from the Army, he was employed by the City of
El Paso, Texas, in the Office of Emergency Management. In 1988, Jack
was inducted into the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame.
Webmaster's
notes: In the 1950s, a bronze metallic President’s Hundred
brassard was awarded rather than the present day cloth tab. His
wife also wrote that “Jack” enjoyed getting the MMA Times
newsletter from the association, and she read them to him at the end
when he was so ill. |