Sussex County’s Greatest Generation

Lessons from Personal and Family History in Waverly Virginia

Deborah L. ParkerSpeaker, Author, VeteranThe DPJ Training Group

dlparker6@verizon.netwww.thedpjtraininggroup.com

Presentation Format

• Beginnings• Milestones• Celebrations• Endings

History’s Teaching Points

• Extract• Reconcile• Preserve• Share• Give Honor• Legacy Noted

The family is our refuge and our springboard; nourished on it, we can

advance to new horizons. In every conceivable manner, the family is link

to our past, bridge to our future.

Alex Haley

Yield

BEGINNINGS

My stock and mother, the late Mary Parker Brown

Lessons of The Journey Begin

Family

Emphasis on Learning:World Book Encyclopedias

Wise Counsel for The DPJ Training Group Pearl and Joseph Parker

Veteran of Battle and Life -My late uncle Harris L. Parker

aka Hardcore

Road Warriors

Extended Generation of Family Support Life’s “Old Soldiers”

The Environment’s Challenges and Comforts

Resources to Never Forget

Prime Your Pump Lesson

Lessons to Sit On

Learning Rituals

Surroundings of The Times

Crossings and History

Financial Mainstay Lessons

Play and Learn the Course

Pushing to Know

An Education Foundation

Religious Principles

Staples and Snacks

Generational Comfort Food

MILESTONES

Education Matters – Claim the Prize

Serve and Tough it Out

Write On!

Follow the Signs

Claim and Own It!

Grow and Hang With Them!

It Take a Village

CELEBRATIONS

50 Years of Wise Lessons

Honor Their Toils

Heroines of My History

Holidays

The Pie is a Symbol

Troops and Turkey Protocol

Voyagers Return Home

Try! Make a Difference

Honor Your Labor

Lead History

Explore Your Beginnings Beyond

Go Home

Find Your Roots

Share the Rewards of Service

Mark Your Spot:A Centennial of Service and

Sisterhood

New Heights to Navigate

Make it Happen

What Were the Lessons?

Vision Made Plain, Again

ENDINGS

Grit to Glory

Imprints of Our Story

Retired CSM Harris L. Parker, a Vietnam veteran and 2002 inductee into the Ranger Hall of Fame, died Dec. 7, 2011, at Southside Regional Medical Center in Petersburg, VA. Parker, who began his Army career in 1954 at Fort Jackson, SC, was from Waverly, VA. His decision to join the Army “proved to be the beginning of a progressive and proud time that provided him valuable training in the art of leadership, tactics and organization,” according to his niece, retired LTC Deborah L. Parker, US Army Reserves. “After completing parachutetraining, Ranger Parker moved with the 11th Airborne Division to Germany onOperation Gyroscope in 1955, the firstof a career defined by assignments in elite units,” notes his RHOF biography. “In 1955, he was hand picked as acadre member for the 101st AirborneDivision RECONDO School as the forerunner for Army divisions in smallunit leadership, reconnaissance and patrolling techniques. “From July 1962 to January 1966, SGT Parker served as an instructor and class tactical noncommissioned officer in the Ft. Benning phase of the U.S. Army Ranger School.” His success was reflected in the “outstanding qualifications of Rangers who proceeded from his area of responsibility and in their opinions of him as an instructor.” Ranger Parker served two combat tours in Vietnam, “serving and fighting with the courageous Vietnamese Rangers in 1966. In 1971, he was assigned as a team sergeant of A-431, Special Forces Detachment B-43, Republic of Vietnam. He was a member of Special Forcespersonnel and Ranger officers tasked by USARV to train Cambodian battalions within the Republic of South Vietnam.” Ranger Parker received a direct appointment to captain in the U.S. Army Reserves in March 1975. He retired as command sergeant Major of the Sixth U.S. Army in 1984. His awards

include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal and Vietnam Cross of Gallantry. During a career that spanned 30 years, he served with distinction in a wide range of positions, including ROTC instructor at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and Princeton University in New Jersey. He was also command sergeant major of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command at Ft. Sheridan, IL. While stationed at Ft. Bragg, NC, with the 82nd Airborne Division, Parker obtained a bachelor of arts degree from Fayetteville State University. His family called him “Hardcore” for his toughness and pursuit of excellence. His connection to the military continued after his retirement from the Army. Parker was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Association of the U.S. Army. He was a member of Tri Cities 555th (Triple Nickel) Parachute Infantry Association, which honors black soldiers of WW II, and served a term as the association’s national president. Parker continued his educational pursuits, completing a master’s degree in educational guidance counseling from Virginia State University, where he served as a counselor. He was chief magistrate of the Sixth Judicial District of Virginia and received a Supreme Court of Virginia Distinguished Service Award for his outstanding service upon retiring in 2005. He was active in civic and community organizations and was elected chair of the board of supervisors for Sussex County. He worked with Project Discovery and was on the board of directors for John Tyler Community College. He was a life-long member of Liberty Baptist Church in Waverly, where his funeral was held Dec. 16, followed by interment at Horton Veteran’s Cemetery in Suffolk, Va. Ranger Parker is survived by four children, two brothers and one sister alongwith numerous grandchildren, nieces, nephews and cousins.

RHOF inductee Harris L. Parkerdies December 7, 2011

Legacy Work

Home Again – The Town That Taught Me

Faith to Faith

Lesson Track

• Tenacious• Resolute• Able• Caring• Kindred

History’s Teaching Points

• Extract• Reconcile• Preserve• Share• Give Honor• Legacy Noted

Your Legacy• Do more than exist… live.• Do more than touch… feel.• Do more than look… observe.• Do more than read… absorb.• Do more than hear… listen.• Do more than listen…understand.• Do more than think…ponder.• Do more than talk…say something.

John H. Rhoades

Deborah L. Parker

The DPJ Training GroupAuthor

Books and WebsitesHardcore Leadership

http://11hardcoreleadershiplessons.wordpress.com/

For People of Strength, Soul, and Spirithttp://peopleofsoulandspirit.wordpress.com/

Navigating Life’s Roadwayshttp://www.navigatinglifesroadways.com/