Lt Col Roger W. Parkinson
Source: Family Search
Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) Roger Wendell Parkinson of the Division’s Headquarters Company, 101st Airborne Division, was born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, to George A. and Alice E. (Atwood) Parkinson on January 18, 1902. Roger was their only child.
Roger was an engineer with the American Sugar Refining Company (ASRC) before entering the service. The ASRC was the most significant American business unit in the sugar refining industry in the early 1900s. He married Ruth Elisabeth Briggs at an unknown date. Together, they raised three children, John B. (1937), Elizabeth (1933), and their firstborn, Roger W. Parkinson Jr. (1932).
Roger enlisted in the U.S. Army on June 13, 1941. He was assigned to the 801st Airborne Ordnance Company and was the Ordnance Officer of the divisional headquarters company. The ordnance company provided essential maintenance, repair, and logistical support to keep the division's vehicles and equipment operational during the major campaigns in Europe. As the ordnance officer, Lt Col Parkinson was tasked with safeguarding the division’s weapons and ammunition supplies, as well as giving advice and making decisions regarding the handling, storage, and transport of ordnance.
During Operation Market Garden, on September 26, 1944, a tragic event took place at the divisional headquarters (CP). The CP, located at Castle Henkenshagen, situated at the west edge of St. Oedenrode, was shelled by the Germans. Behind the castle, in a wooded area, not only were two troopers killed during the attack, but also an eight-year-old Dutch boy. The two troopers were TEC5 Ancel D. Mullen of the 326th Airborne Engineer Battalion and Lt Col Parkinson.
Another two Screaming Eagles had soared to the ultimate height. 🦅
Source: Find a Grave
Lt Col Roger Parkinson died at the age of 42 in Brabant, The Netherlands. He was not the oldest trooper of the 101st Airborne Division to die in combat in WWII. Two other older members of the Headquarters Company made the ultimate sacrifice: Captain Herbert Cross died at age 45 and General Don Pratt at 51 years.
On September 27, 1944, he was first buried at the Temporary American Military Cemetery of Son at Plot B, Row 3, Grave 56. He was disinterred on June 14, 1948, and moved by rail from the American Cemetery at Margraten to the port of Antwerp, where his casket was placed on the USAT Barney Kirschbaum on December 7, 1948. After he arrived in New York Harbor, he was transported by train to Boston, arriving on Thursday, January 20, 1949. He was reburied two days after returning home. Lt Col Parkinson rests eternally at the Walnut Hills Cemetery of Brookline, Norfolk County, Massachusetts. He was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart Medal and Bronze Star Medal.
May he rest in peace.
Happy Birthday in Heaven, Roger.
Lest we forget. 🇺🇸
Sources:
Hell’s Highway by George Koskimaki
Family Search
NARA