Major General.
The Washington Post June 9, 1983
Retired Army Major General Edwin P. Parker Jr., 91, whose command helped secure the Remagen bridgehead across the Rhine River, one of the famous actions of World War II, died of congestive heart failure June 7 at his home in Washington.
General Parker commanded the 78th Infantry Division during the most of the war and also was acting commander of the XIII Corps, of which the division was a part. The 78th, which was called the Lightning Division and had a white bolt of lightning on a red semicircle as its shoulder patch took part in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944.
Later it captured a section of the Siegfried Line, a major German defensive system, crossed the Roer River on February 28, 1945 and joined the offensive towards the Rhine. In the course of this drive the 9th Armored Division seized the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen before the Germans could blow it up.
Troops of the 78th Division were the first to cross after the 9th Armored and they expanded the bridgehead. The action significantly facilitated allied operations late in the war and has been the subject of a number of books and a film.
After the war, General Parker held a number of assignments in Germany and in Chicago, where he was Deputy Commander of the 6th Army and in Washington, where he was Provost Marshal General of the Army. He retired in 1953.
From 1960 to 1970 he was the Business Manager of the St. Albans School for Boys in Washington.
General Parker was born in Wytheville, Virginia. He was reared in Wilmington, North Carolina and Washington, where he graduated from the old Western High School. He attended George Washington University and was commissioned in the field artillery in 1912.
During World War I he served in the Panama Canal Zone. In the years between the wars he graduated from the Field Artillery School, the Command and General Staff College and the Army War College. He had a number of assignments with Reserve Officer Training Corps units at various universities and with the National Guard. He organized the 78th Division in 1942.
General Parker's military decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars and the French and Belgian Croix de Guerre.
Survivors include his wife, the former Hannah Matthews, of Washington; four sons, retired Army Colonel Henry S. of Bethesda, another son of Bethesda, one of Washington and one of St. Inigoes, Maryland; a sister of Washington; 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
The Washington Post June 9, 1983
Retired Army Major General Edwin P. Parker Jr., 91, whose command helped secure the Remagen bridgehead across the Rhine River, one of the famous actions of World War II, died of congestive heart failure June 7 at his home in Washington.
General Parker commanded the 78th Infantry Division during the most of the war and also was acting commander of the XIII Corps, of which the division was a part. The 78th, which was called the Lightning Division and had a white bolt of lightning on a red semicircle as its shoulder patch took part in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944.
Later it captured a section of the Siegfried Line, a major German defensive system, crossed the Roer River on February 28, 1945 and joined the offensive towards the Rhine. In the course of this drive the 9th Armored Division seized the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen before the Germans could blow it up.
Troops of the 78th Division were the first to cross after the 9th Armored and they expanded the bridgehead. The action significantly facilitated allied operations late in the war and has been the subject of a number of books and a film.
After the war, General Parker held a number of assignments in Germany and in Chicago, where he was Deputy Commander of the 6th Army and in Washington, where he was Provost Marshal General of the Army. He retired in 1953.
From 1960 to 1970 he was the Business Manager of the St. Albans School for Boys in Washington.
General Parker was born in Wytheville, Virginia. He was reared in Wilmington, North Carolina and Washington, where he graduated from the old Western High School. He attended George Washington University and was commissioned in the field artillery in 1912.
During World War I he served in the Panama Canal Zone. In the years between the wars he graduated from the Field Artillery School, the Command and General Staff College and the Army War College. He had a number of assignments with Reserve Officer Training Corps units at various universities and with the National Guard. He organized the 78th Division in 1942.
General Parker's military decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars and the French and Belgian Croix de Guerre.
Survivors include his wife, the former Hannah Matthews, of Washington; four sons, retired Army Colonel Henry S. of Bethesda, another son of Bethesda, one of Washington and one of St. Inigoes, Maryland; a sister of Washington; 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Major General.
The Washington Post June 9, 1983
Retired Army Major General Edwin P. Parker Jr., 91, whose command helped secure the Remagen bridgehead across the Rhine River, one of the famous actions of World War II, died of congestive heart failure June 7 at his home in Washington.
General Parker commanded the 78th Infantry Division during the most of the war and also was acting commander of the XIII Corps, of which the division was a part. The 78th, which was called the Lightning Division and had a white bolt of lightning on a red semicircle as its shoulder patch took part in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944.
Later it captured a section of the Siegfried Line, a major German defensive system, crossed the Roer River on February 28, 1945 and joined the offensive towards the Rhine. In the course of this drive the 9th Armored Division seized the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen before the Germans could blow it up.
Troops of the 78th Division were the first to cross after the 9th Armored and they expanded the bridgehead. The action significantly facilitated allied operations late in the war and has been the subject of a number of books and a film.
After the war, General Parker held a number of assignments in Germany and in Chicago, where he was Deputy Commander of the 6th Army and in Washington, where he was Provost Marshal General of the Army. He retired in 1953.
From 1960 to 1970 he was the Business Manager of the St. Albans School for Boys in Washington.
General Parker was born in Wytheville, Virginia. He was reared in Wilmington, North Carolina and Washington, where he graduated from the old Western High School. He attended George Washington University and was commissioned in the field artillery in 1912.
During World War I he served in the Panama Canal Zone. In the years between the wars he graduated from the Field Artillery School, the Command and General Staff College and the Army War College. He had a number of assignments with Reserve Officer Training Corps units at various universities and with the National Guard. He organized the 78th Division in 1942.
General Parker's military decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars and the French and Belgian Croix de Guerre.
Survivors include his wife, the former Hannah Matthews, of Washington; four sons, retired Army Colonel Henry S. of Bethesda, another son of Bethesda, one of Washington and one of St. Inigoes, Maryland; a sister of Washington; 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
The Washington Post June 9, 1983
Retired Army Major General Edwin P. Parker Jr., 91, whose command helped secure the Remagen bridgehead across the Rhine River, one of the famous actions of World War II, died of congestive heart failure June 7 at his home in Washington.
General Parker commanded the 78th Infantry Division during the most of the war and also was acting commander of the XIII Corps, of which the division was a part. The 78th, which was called the Lightning Division and had a white bolt of lightning on a red semicircle as its shoulder patch took part in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944.
Later it captured a section of the Siegfried Line, a major German defensive system, crossed the Roer River on February 28, 1945 and joined the offensive towards the Rhine. In the course of this drive the 9th Armored Division seized the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen before the Germans could blow it up.
Troops of the 78th Division were the first to cross after the 9th Armored and they expanded the bridgehead. The action significantly facilitated allied operations late in the war and has been the subject of a number of books and a film.
After the war, General Parker held a number of assignments in Germany and in Chicago, where he was Deputy Commander of the 6th Army and in Washington, where he was Provost Marshal General of the Army. He retired in 1953.
From 1960 to 1970 he was the Business Manager of the St. Albans School for Boys in Washington.
General Parker was born in Wytheville, Virginia. He was reared in Wilmington, North Carolina and Washington, where he graduated from the old Western High School. He attended George Washington University and was commissioned in the field artillery in 1912.
During World War I he served in the Panama Canal Zone. In the years between the wars he graduated from the Field Artillery School, the Command and General Staff College and the Army War College. He had a number of assignments with Reserve Officer Training Corps units at various universities and with the National Guard. He organized the 78th Division in 1942.
General Parker's military decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars and the French and Belgian Croix de Guerre.
Survivors include his wife, the former Hannah Matthews, of Washington; four sons, retired Army Colonel Henry S. of Bethesda, another son of Bethesda, one of Washington and one of St. Inigoes, Maryland; a sister of Washington; 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
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