Theodore W. Parker
Encyclopedia
Theodore William Parker (January 31, 1909 – May 27, 1994) was a United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 four star general who served as Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe is the central command of NATO military forces. It is located at Casteau, north of the Belgian city of Mons...

 (COFS SHAPE) from 1963 to 1969

Military career

Parker was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

 on January 31, 1909, and graduated from North High School there in 1925. He graduated from the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...

 in 1931, and was commissioned in Field Artillery. He married Nina Mae Hill of Minneapolis on July 20, 1935 at Fort Snelling, Minnesota
Fort Snelling, Minnesota
Fort Snelling, originally known as Fort Saint Anthony, was a military fortification located at the confluence of the Minnesota River and Mississippi River in Hennepin County, Minnesota...

.

During World War II, Parker went to Iceland with the first Army contingent to go overseas, and spent two years there. He returned to the U.S. to train an artillery battalion, then served as G-3 Operations Officer on the Ninth United States Army throughout its campaigns in the European Theater of Operations
European Theater of Operations
The European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed U.S. Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and the...

. After the war he wrote the book Conquer, The Official History of the Ninth Army in World War II.

He spent from 1949 to 1950 as Assistant Secretary of the Army, General Staff, and 1950 to 1952 as Chief of Staff of the Tenth Infantry Division (Training) at Fort Riley
Fort Riley
Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in Northeast Kansas, on the Kansas River, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 100,656 acres in Geary and Riley counties and includes two census-designated places: Fort Riley North and Fort...

, Kansas. During the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

, he commanded both a division and corps artillery, and later an anti-aircraft artillery brigade and region in the United States. From 1960 to 1961 he commanded the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley.

His service in the politico-military field includes three years on the War Department General Staff, a year in the Executive Office of the President, and more than three years in Paris with the North Atlantic Council
North Atlantic Council
North Atlantic Council is the most senior political governing body of NATO established by Article 9 of the North Atlantic Treaty. The NAC can be held at the Permanent Representative Level , or can be composed of member states' Ministers of State, Defense, or Heads of Government. The NAC has the...

, the major part of it as the Standing Group's Representative to the Council. In 1961, he returned to Washington to serve as Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is by law the highest ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, and is the principal military adviser to the President of the United States, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council and the Secretary of Defense...

 for a year, and then as Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations of the Army from May 1962 to June 1963. On July 1, 1963, he was promoted to full General and became Chief of Staff of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe is the central command of NATO military forces. It is located at Casteau, north of the Belgian city of Mons...

 (SHAPE).

Parker was a graduate of the battery and advanced officer's courses at Fort Sill
Fort Sill
Fort Sill is a United States Army post near Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.Today, Fort Sill remains the only active Army installation of all the forts on the South Plains built during the Indian Wars...

, Oklahoma, the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, immediately north of the city of Leavenworth in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C. and has been in operation for over 180 years...

, and the National War College
National War College
The National War College of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. It was officially established on July 1, 1946, as an upgraded replacement for the...

. Form 1935 to 1939, he served as an instructor at West Point in the Department of Natural and Experimental Philosophy.

Awards and decorations

General Parker's awards and decorations include:
  •   Army Distinguished Service Medal
    Distinguished Service Medal (Army)
    The Distinguished Service Medal is a military award of the United States Army that is presented to any person who, while serving in any capacity with the United States military, has distinguished himself or herself by exceptionally meritorious service to the Government in a duty of great...


  •   Legion of Merit
    Legion of Merit
    The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...

     (with oak leaf cluster in lieu of second award)

  •   Bronze Star
    Bronze Star Medal
    The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...


  •   Air Medal
    Air Medal
    The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...



Foreign Awards
  • Order of the British Empire
    Order of the British Empire
    The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...


  • Ulchi Distinguished Service Medal with Gold Star.

Post military

After retiring from the Army in 1969, Parker became Commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation
New York State Department of Transportation
The New York State Department of Transportation is responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports, waterways and aviation facilities in the U.S...

 from 1969 to 1972. He died on May 27, 1994 in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...

.
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