Page 82 - Lubbock Senior Link Magazine Fall 2019- Online Magazine
P. 82
Lloyd Parker
9,000 Miles to the Front
by Larry A. Williams
Veterans Liasion Co-Chair
Texas South Plains Honor Flight
New Guinea. The supposed 14- Lloyd continued, “I was on an
day trip took us 38 days!” 81mm mortar as a gunner. We
lost some good men in Luzon.
Lloyd Ennis Parker was born on I was lucky - never wounded.
December 30, 1924 in Winnsboro, We kept moving inland and
Texas to Walter and Nancy arrived at the big POW Camp
Parker. His dad was an itinerant Cabanatuan where American
farmer. His mother kept busy prisoners had been held.” (The
with ten children. “I had an camp was liberated in January
older brother in WWII. My twin 1945 by American 6 Army and
th
brother Floyd and I went into Filipino guerillas in what came
the Army together and were to be called “The Great Raid”.)
in the same unit. The 103 was “Some of the prisoners were
rd
sent to New Zealand and on to crying; some were silent; and
New Guinea to tackle a mostly a some couldn’t believe they were
mop-up operation. I saw my first free. They looked terrible. They
Japanese soldier there; he was a said the old guards had been
prisoner.” On the next stop, the shipped out and new meaner
loyd Parker was drafted Parkers saw much more action. ones came into the camp,” Lloyd
on July 5, 1943. His basic recalled.
Ltraining took place in General Douglas McArthur
Camp Wolters near Mineral famously said, after leaving “Our next mission was to root
Wells, Texas. At the time, it was the Philippines in March 1942, out some Japs in a resort town
the largest infantry replacement “I shall return.” Lloyd and in the mountains, but we didn’t
training camp in the U.S. Texan, Floyd were in the middle of the make it there as we had lost
Audie Murphy, a future Medal of “return.” Lloyd continued, “We too many troops. Replacements
Honor winner, was trained there. were going to make a beach head arrived, so every two to three
After three months of intense at Luzon on January 8, 1945. The weeks, we got to go back and
training, Parker and his unit, the beach had already been bombed get a shower and some rest.
103 Infantry Regiment, were and strafed by the Army Air The next battlefield was the IPO
rd
sent to Camp Shanks in New Corps and bombarded by the Dam, which supplied about
York to be shipped to Europe. Navy. Our goal was a village 30% of Manila’s water. We were
So, how did the troop ship, about 10-12 miles inland. We supposed to get there before the
headed to Europe, turn into a only made about three to four monsoon season hit, but we were
9,000-mile trip? Lloyd explained. miles and had to bed down in too late. It rained so much that
“We headed out into the Atlantic what was supposed to be a dry we couldn’t see to do anything;
and had several destroyers with rice paddy. It was not dry! Bad
us to guard against German intelligence! We moved out
submarines. A couple of days the next morning and took
out, I went topside and looked the village against quite a
around. There wasn’t another bit of resistance from the
ship in sight! The captain of the Japanese. The next day,
ship came on the intercom and 25-30 guerillas came down
said ‘Men, we are on our own’.” out of the hills. They were
a motley-looking bunch of
“We were issued winter gear, and U.S. and Australian troops
we thought, ‘Well, we’re headed who did not surrender
somewhere cold in Europe.’ when the Japs took over the
Later, we were ordered to turn island in 1942. They had
in our winter gear and pick up been giving them hell for
summer gear. The captain told two to three years! They had
us that we were now headed to a lot of guts.”
82 Lubbock Senior Link
