Pictured is Connor Strickland, great grandson of Dr. Lee Parker, being presented the flag flown in Dr. Parker’s honor, over the American Cemetery at Normandy by David Eisenhower.
David Eisenhower, grandson of GEN Dwight Eisenhower -architect of America’s D-Day landing at Normandy, spoke to over 150 Reynolds veterans, spouses and invited guests last week at Reynolds – Lake Oconee. Mr. Eisenhower is long time childhood friend from Gettysburg, PA of Reynolds resident and former Army nurse, Ginny Dornheggen.
Mr. Eisenhower, a history professor at the University of Pennsylvania, is a noted authority and author on both his grandfather and the invasion on June 6, 1944. He made numerous references to the significance of having grown up in Gettysburg, the site of the 19thcentury’s most decisive battle and Normandy, the 20th Century’s most studied and historic American engagement.
He noted that his grandfather, in addition to a great military mind, was a warm and compassionate man. He knew all too well the impending horror that awaited both the allies and Germans on the beaches of France and in the English Channel. He also knew and had to weigh the options of not invading France and liberate Western Europe from the Nazi’s.
Greene County residents will recall one of their own, Dr. E. Lee Parker, as being a hero in the invasion. Dr. Parker, formerly of Waycross, went into the Navy right out of medical school in Augusta. He was assigned to one of the Navy’s elite beach battalions that would have a key role in the invasion. In the first wave ashore, Dr. Parker was the senior medical officer on a section of Omaha Beach. While the soldiers’ objective was to take the beach and advance inland, Dr. Parker and his corpsmen were on the beach for 21 days, tending to the dead and wounded of both the allies and Germans. Some 10 years ago at a similar dinner gathering of Reynolds veterans, Dr. Parker was asked if the carnage portrayed in the opening scenes of the Tom Hanks movie, Saving Private Ryan, was accurate. All vividly recall his lowering his head and voice and saying, “It was worse”. After Normandy, Dr. Parker went on to serve in both China and Guam. After the war he settled in Greensboro, where he practiced medicine, helped found the Minnie G. Boswell hospital and raised his family.
In addition to the inspiring talk given by Mr. Eisenhower, a highlight of the evening was the presentation of an American flag, recently flown over the American Cemetery at Normandy in Dr. Parker’s honor. In anticipation of the evening, this had been arranged by the Reynolds Veterans Association. The flag was presented to Dr. Parker’s extended family, 17 members of whom were in attendance. In addition, everyone there was given a single white star off of a flag, also flown over Normandy, as a remembrance of Dr. Parker and the evening’s program.