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Charlie Parkman

Posted 08.28.06 at 11:37 AM

Transcript of Oral History

NAME: Charlie Parkman
ADDRESS: Paris, Texas
BRANCH OF SERVICE: U.S. Navy
DATES OF SERVICE: N/A
LOCATIONS SERVED: South Pacific
INTERVIEWER: Brittany Ballard
DATE OF INTERVIEW: N/A

Ballad: What is your date of birth?

Parkman: December 19, 1925.

Ballad: What military branch were you in?

Parkman: I was in the United States Navy.

Ballad: Where did you serve?

Parkman: I was in the South Pacific.

Ballad: What war were you involved in?

Parkman: I was in World War II.

Ballad: What was your rank?

Parkman: Seaman First Class

Ballad: Were you drafted or did you enlist?

Parkman: I enlisted, I would be 18 the 19th of December, and my mother thought it would be wise if I joined the Navy instead of being drafted for the Army in 1943.

Ballad: At the time, was the drafting age 18?

Parkman: Yes.

Ballad: Where were you living at that time?

Parkman: I was living with my family on a farm north of Palestine, Texas.

Ballad: Why did you pick the service branch you joined? Did you pick it just because your mom said it was okay?

Parkman: Well no, I thought for a while it would be better to sleep on a mattress than in the mud, so I just decided to join the Navy. I have great sympathy for those who slept in the mud.

Ballad: Do you recall your first day in the service?

Parkman: Well, I joined the Navy in ‘43, entered the service in February of ‘44 and my first assignment was in Houston. I never been to Houston before in my life, I got off the train and got a taxi and told them to take me to the University. Anyway I was fresh off the farm, I had never been no where outside of Palestine.

Ballad: Did you have a boot camp or training experience?

Parkman: Yes, I went to Great Lakes Training Station in Illinois and I received my basic training there and went from there to Port Mississippi.

Ballad: So, on the ship, where did you go?

Parkman: Well, we left New Orleans, we were the transportation part of the Navy, we carried all the materials and supplies. It was our responsibility to guard that ship and we did the best we could. We left out of New Orleans in November, December I guess it was.

Ballad: Do you remember when you arrived and what was it like? Your first experience on the ship.

Parkman: Well, it was a real experience, a brand new ship that had never been to sea, it was a commercial ship. We had no idea of what was supposed to be done. We were sort of just some young kids 18 years old, we wondered around trying to find out how the ropes worked.

Ballad: Where there any casualties in your unit?

Parkman: No

Ballad: What was some of your memorable experiences?

Parkman: Well, as I said we went to Panama and the Canary Island and we went from New Orleans to New Guinea, and from new Guinea we went and loaded a hospital unit. We had to secure everything. We stayed seven days and nights.

Ballad: How did you stay in touch with your family?

Parkman: We stayed in touch through mail, we had little envelopes that folded up. Mail was all we had.

Ballad: Did you feel any pressure or stress?

Parkman: Yes, there were lots of bombs, so we had to stay with our guns.

Ballad: What did you do on leave?

Parkman: Well, we sort of wandered around.

Ballad: Did you know before hand that you were going to get put on leave? So you knew when they told you then?

Parkman: Yes.

Ballad: Through your experience what do you think about war in general?

Parkman: War is a bad time, war is hell, it’s not good.

Ballad: Did being in the war contribute to the way you feel.

Parkman: Yes.

Ballad: Is their anything you would like to add?

Parkman: Well, you know like I say, my career was a supportive career. I appreciate the opportunity to talk with you.