Dr. Richard P. Parkinson
Age: 90
Born: Jan. 2, 1921
Hometown: Franklin, Idaho
Residence: Indio
Military branch: U.S. Army; California National Guard
Years served: U.S. Army: 1938-1948; 81st “Wildcat” Infantry Division; 332nd Infantry Regiment; U.S. Army Reserves: 1948 - 1978; California National Guard: 1978 - 1985
Rank: World War II: captain; California National Guard: Retired as brigadier general
Family: Wife Marilyn; four sons, Rick Parkinson of Provo, Utah, Jimmy Parkinson of Bermuda Dunes, Tom Parkinson of Salt Lake City and David Parkinson of Indio; 13 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren
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U.S. Army veteran Richard Parkinson fought with the 81st “Wildcat” Infantry Division, doing battle in the the Pacific during World War II.
It was one of just many challenges Parkinson, 90, has faced during his life.
After reaching age 60, he began competing in Ironman Triathlons held in Hawaii and has completed nine.
He scaled Mount Kilimanjaro when he was 74, became a medical doctor, and served three tours of duty in South Vietnam with the Volunteer Physicians Vietnam Program.
He retired from the California National Guard in 1985 — wrapping up 47 years of service with the rank of Brigadier General.
Parkinson was inspired by his dad and uncles, who served in the Army during World War I.
“My father taught me that being a soldier was an honorable profession.”
Parkinson got an early start on his long military career. In 1938, at the age of 17, he began attending Citizens Military Training Camp.
After graduating from high school in Franklin, Idaho, he entered Utah State University, and joined the Utah National Guard in 1939.
He was called to active duty in 1941, and commissioned as a second lieutenant a year later.
Parkinson was sent overseas in 1944, serving as a commanding officer of a platoon — and later, a company — with the 322nd Infantry Regiment.
In September, 1944, Parkinson saw his first combat action on a tiny, volcanic landmass in the Palau Islands.
During the Battle of Angaur the men met stiff competition from the well-entrenched Japanese troops.
“We were ordered to hold the beach at all costs.”
A couple of times, Parkinson had the grisly task of peeling dead Japanese off the barbed wire surrounding the U.S. position. He never knew what he'd find the morning after the nighttime firefights.
The men camped out on the beach and one night, a strange sound penetrated the night air.
“We would hear voices out on the ocean,” he said. “They'd fade in and out.”
On the third night, Parkinson and four other officers got into rubber boats and paddled out toward the voices.
Parkinson was armed with a .45 pistol — the only man who carried a weapon into the dark unknown.
“Five idiots with one gun,” he said, laughing. “The other guys grabbed paddles. All I had on was a pair of shorts and go-aheads (flip-flop sandals).”
“We finally came upon three sailors stranded on a reef and rescued them. We could just barely hear them ... They were damn near dead.”
The regiment moved on to New Calendonia, then landed in the south Philippine Islands right behind Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Parkinson said.
After the war ended, he served in occupation duty in Japan.
Back in the states, he attended paratrooper school in Fort Benning, Ga., where he earned his parachute wings as a member of the 82nd Airborne Division.
“It was a fulfillment of a boyhood dream,” he said, reflecting on his career. “I saw myself as a professional soldier and intended to stay (in active duty).
Parkinson runs a free medical clinic in Indio for people who can't afford heath care.
“We do everything we can for them,” he said.
Staff writer Denise Goolsby will profile desert veterans from World War II on Sundays. Contact her at (760) 778-4587 or via e-mail at denise.goolsby@thedesertsun.com
