Edward Parks - Made the Supreme Sacrifice That Helped Preserve Our Freedom

Edward Parks was born in Atlanta, Georgia on May 31, 1919. From the 1920 U.S. Census, we learn that Edward’s father, also Edward, 21, was an automobile mechanic. His mother, Ann, 23, had only their son Edward, a newborn, living at home at this time. The three family members lived with grandparents, John and Alice Parks, on St. Charles Avenue in Atlanta.

Ten years later, the family had grown to include five children; Edward, 10, Richard, 9, Charles, 7, Anne, 5 and Joseph, 2. Edward Sr. was then working as an automobile parts salesman. Edward’s grandmother Alice, 58, lived with them on St. Charles Avenue, still in Atlanta. This information was included in the 1930 U.S. Census. His grandfather was not listed on this document.

After high school graduation, Edward attended the Georgia Institute of Technology and in 1941, he joined the Naval R.O.T.C. Parks was the student commander and named to the Who’s Who in American Universities and Colleges.

Parks was commissioned a Lieutenant J.G. upon graduation from college because of his experience with the Naval Reserve. His Navy service number was O-107063. He volunteered for the submarine service and trained at the base in New London, Connecticut.

Parks joined the crew of the ill-fated submarine USS Triton (SS-201) sometime in 1942. Edward participated in several war patrols into the Southwest Pacific aboard the Triton. The USS Triton (SS-201) was the fourth Tambor-class submarine to be commissioned in the United States Navy in the years leading up to the country's December 1941 entry into World War II. Her wartime service was in the Pacific Ocean. She completed five patrols in the following 14 months, and is credited with the sinking of over 20,000 tons of Japanese shipping and warships. She was lost with all hands on or around March 15, 1943. Of the twelve Tambor-class submarines, only five survived the war.

Her keel was down on 5 July 1939 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard. She was launched on 25 March 1940 and commissioned on 15 August 1940 with Lieutenant Commander Willis A. "Pilly" Lent (Class of 1925) in command. She was the first submarine and third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Triton, a mythological Greek god, the messenger of the sea.

The new submarine held her shakedown training in the Caribbean Sea from 14 January to 26 March 1941 and then conducted training and minelaying exercises in the Portsmouth, New Hampshire - New London, Connecticut area. Triton departed Portsmouth on 1 July, transited the Panama Canal on 12 July, and arrived at San Diego, California, on 20 July. Nine days later, she and sister ship USS Trout (SS-202) headed for Hawaii and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 4 August 1941.

Fifth War Patrol - On 16 December, 1942, Triton got underway for a position 20 miles (32 km) east of Wake on the Midway–Wake route. She was one of three submarines stationed between the two islands to mark the way for United States Army Air Forces B-24 Liberator bombers in strikes on Wake and to rescue the crews of any planes forced down at sea. She made no rescues, but, on the night of 23 December, she aided in guiding the Liberators in a night bombing attack on the island. On 24 December, the submarine sighted the mast of a ship on the horizon, headed for Wake anchorage. Triton (alerted by ULTRA) closed to 1,000 yards (910 m) and launched two torpedoes. One hit under the stack, the other under the foremast. Amakasu Maru Number 1 was obliterated in a cloud of smoke and steam as she went under. The submarine then set a course for Brisbane. On 28 December, she sighted an enemy ship, closed to 7,000 yards (6,400 m), and launched three torpedoes into the transport Omi Maru. The ship sank almost immediately and, although there was much wreckage, no survivors were seen.

Triton was then ordered to patrol the Truk–Rabaul–New Guinea shipping lanes, north and northwest of New Ireland, arriving on 30 December 1942. On 10 January 1943, Triton stalked an unidentified vessel but withheld her attack upon observing it was marked as a hospital ship. Three days later, she launched four torpedoes at a tanker and scored one hit. When the enemy began firing at her periscope, she went deep to begin an end around. About 20 minutes later, the submarine returned to periscope depth and launched a spread of four torpedoes. Two geysers of water rose amidships as high as the target's bridge, but no explosions followed. The next day, Triton attempted to attack a freighter, but an escort forced her down where she was subjected to a two-hour depth charge attack. On 16 January, she attacked two cargo ships, scoring two hits on the first and one on the second; but her victims forced her to submerge before she could evaluate the damage. Later that day, Triton fired her last three torpedoes at a large freighter but heard no explosions. She then headed for Australia and reached Brisbane on 26 January, with a total of 6,500 tons for the trip.

Sixth and Final patrol - Falling under the strict tactical control of Admiral James Fife, Jr., Triton (now in the hands of Parks K. MacKenzie) on 16 February, 1943 began her sixth and final war patrol, hoping to destroy enemy shipping between the Shortland Basin and Rabaul. She reported smoke on 22 February and a new Japanese radar at Buka. On 6 March, the submarine attacked a convoy of five destroyer-escorted ships, sinking the cargo ship Kiriha Maru and damaging another freighter. One of her torpedoes made a circular run, and Triton went deep to evade it. She attacked another convoy on the night of 8 March and claimed that five of the eight torpedoes she had fired scored hits. She could not observe the results or make a follow-up attack because gunfire from the escorts forced her down. On 11 March, Triton reported she was chasing two convoys, each made up of five or more ships. She was informed Trigger (SS-237) was operating in an adjoining area and ordered to stay south of the equator. On 13 March, Triton was warned that three enemy destroyers, including the Akikaze were in her area either looking for a convoy or hunting American submarines.

On 15 March, Trigger reported she had attacked a convoy and had been depth charged. Even though attacks on her ceased, she could still hear distant depth charging for about an hour. No further messages from Triton were ever received. Post-war examination of Japanese records revealed on 15 March 1943, three Japanese destroyers attacked a submarine a little northwest of Triton's assigned area and subsequently observed an oil slick, debris, and items with American markings. On 10 April 1943, Triton was reported overdue from patrol and presumed lost, one of three lost in a month.

Edward Parks was one of the 74 sailors killed aboard the USS Triton on March 15, 1943. None of the bodies were able to be recovered. All of the crew are memorialized at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines. He was awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Silver Star posthumously and was entitled to the American Defense Service Medal, and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.

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This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen’s name and read his/her story.

Resources:

https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/u/united-states-submarine-losses/triton-ss-201.html

http://oneternalpatrol.com/parks-e-s.htm

1920, 1930 and 1940 U.S. Census

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/20028141:6061?tid=&pid=&queryId=c785eb53f69755caf5ffe5cd391b942f&_phsrc=DRX662&_phstart=successSource

https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1265/images/1265_b886827-00072?treeid=&personid=&rc=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=DRX665&_phstart=successSource&pId=1440384793

The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia)23 Apr 1943, Fri Page 20

https://www.newspapers.com/image/398029328/?terms=%22Edward%20Parks%22&match=1

The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia) 03 Dec 1942, Thu Page 9

https://www.newspapers.com/image/398129297/?terms=%22Edward%20Parks%22&match=1

Parks, Edward Schley, Jr., LT