Floyd B. Parks: Difference between revisions

Born in [[Salisbury, Missouri]] to Elizabeth Ann (nee Bowman) & James B. Parks, Floyd was their first son together. James was widowed from an earlier marriage (Emma), by whom James C. Parks was born in 1902. Floyd, named for his maternal uncle (Floyd Bowman), became the "middle child" when his younger brother, Billy Bowman Parks, was born in 1921; their father died on 3 February 1924.

Floyd Bruce Parks enlisted in the Navy in 1928 and served two years as a sailor aboard destroyers; he received an appointment to the [[United States Naval Academy]] in 1930. More interested in reading [[Colliers]] and [[Saturday Evening Post]] than textbooks, Parks earned the infamous Black "N," a dubious award given for major infractions, on a number of occasions. He was part of the Midshipman Choir and played on Annapolis' water polo team, as well as participating in intramural football & swimming. Parks graduated within the upper third of his class of 1934, andearning him the choice of a commission in the Navy or Marine Corps. He was appointed a Second Lieutenant in the [[United States Marine Corps]] on June 1 of that year. He was assigned to the Philadelphia Navy Yard for a year before he joined the cruiser [[USS Astoria (CA-34)]]. In May 1936 he reported to the [[Naval Air Station Pensacola]], Florida for flight training. While swimming in trainingthe there[[Gulf of Mexico]] Parks, aided by an enlisted man, rescued a private from drowning and won the commendation of his superior officers for "quick action, good judgment and swimming ability".

Designated a [[Naval Aviator]] on 12 June 1937, Parks was assigned to [[Naval Air Station San Diego]], California in August; he married the former Margaret Elizabeth Murray, an [[El Paso]] native, in 1938. In June 1940 he returned to the NAS Pensacola for duty as a flight instructor. In May 1941, he was transferred to the First Marine Aircraft Wing, Fleet Marine Force, Quantico, Virginia, and servedreceived training in dive bomber tactics. He remained in that assignment until March 1942, when he joined the Second Marine Aircraft Wing in San Diego, for deployment to [[Midway]]. His wife, Margaret, returned to El Paso to stay with her mother during his deployment.