Thank You From Col Ralph Parr

I had the honor of visiting with Col Parr at his assisted living facility in New Braunfels TX the day after Thanksgiving, and he asked that I pass along his thanks to all of you who wrote or called him last summer. He said he stopped counting at 700 but must have had at least 800 cards and letters come to him there at a time in his post-operative recovery that was really a rough stretch.

He said your good wishes really helped him and he wanted to thank everyone for doing that for him. With Christmas coming, it might be time to add him to your Christmas card list, too. Here is his address again:

Col Ralph Parr
c/o McKenna Village
2294 Common Street , Room 442
New Braunfels TX 78130

He is quite a guy. In case your memory needs refreshing, here is part of what I sent to a lot of my military friends last summer:

What You Do Not Know About Ralph Parr

Early in Ralph Parr’s Korean tour in day fighters, his flight was ' bounced ' by a flight of MIGs. He was the first to see them and called them out “ LEAD . . BANDITS AT 9 O'CLOCK HIGH AND FIRING . .

BREAK LEFT NOW !”

In error, the Flight Leader turned the wrong way giving the MIGs an attack advantage. Fortunately, the MIGs drove by in a straight line, cannons spouting yellow and red tracers . . but deciding not to press their advantage.

After the violent turn, Ralph and his element leader lost sight of the Lead, but they continued searching for MIGs. Minutes later . . eight miles straight down . . he noticed a covey of fast moving specks and called them out. However, Ralph's leader, after staring hard at the mottled terrain, said, " I don't see them. You take 'em . . and I'll cover for you ".

Eyes ' padlocked ' to the covey, Ralph rolled inverted . . pulled his Sabre straight down . . and accelerated rapidly past the speed of sound.

The dull brown Korean terrain literally flew up into his face. " I've still got the bogies' in sight. They are MIGs ! And I'm chasing 'em southwest."

Ralph now realized it was time to start his pull out . . NOW ! " Eight G's might do it". "

Uhhh". . he breathed, as heart and lungs squeezed under one ton of centrifugal force. He had to pull enough G's to make it! " It's going to be close ! "

After nine and a half G’s, he missed the dirt by approximately the length of a soccer field.

Close below, rice paddies slipped by in a blur of speed. “ Now I'm coming up way too fast on the MIGs. Speed brakes ! Power to idle detent ! Rudder to detent . . shove 'er sideways.

Whoa . . there's more than four MIGs. There are EIGHT ! NO - O !

" T-H-E-R-E A-R-E S-I-X-T-E-E-N ! "

Although now solo, Ralph decided to press his attack on all of them. He began with the MIG leader. Minutes later fourteen MIGs remained - one of them was badly smoking. At that moment, Ralph's element leader dove in to the melee.

Observing from the battle slightly above, the MIG leader ordered the others to head for home across the Yalu.

Ralph Parr's achievements span 3 wars and 7,500 hours of flying time in fighter aircraft. The Distinguished Service Cross and the Air Force Cross rank second only to the Medal of Honor - medals often awarded to combatants who did not live to receive the honor.

Only one man, Colonel Ralph S. Parr, has been awarded both medals for personal heroism in the extreme during combat.

The son of a Navy pilot, Ralph began his own combat career as a P-38 fighter pilot in the final weeks of the war with Japan. He witnessed the smoke still rising from Hiroshima.

When South Korea was invaded in 1950, he was one of the first fighter pilots to be selected to increase the experience level within combat units in Korea.

During that tour, Parr flew 165 combat missions in close support of our ground troops, interdiction of enemy supply lines . . including many attacks far beyond the front lines.

Returning stateside, Parr flew Sabres in the ADC, where he and two others were able to spend most of a year creating and perfecting air- to-air tactics.

All three eventually became multiple aces. Parr then volunteered for a second combat tour in Korea, this time pitting his advanced aerial combat experience against MIGs.

In seven weeks, within [ 30 ] thirty combat missions, the tactics he had previously devised were incredibly effective. He had quickly become a Double Ace after destroying [ 10 ] ten enemy aircraft.

Parr's Distinguished Service Cross was awarded for a combat mission in June, 1953, where his flight of four was attacked by ten MIGs. He shot down two, and he was about to destroy a third MiG . . when he received an emergency radio call for help from his Wing Commander.

During a separate dogfight, his Commander's engine had flamed out. Helpless, he was under attack from several MIG fighters.

Although low on fuel, Parr abandoned his own attack, visually located his commander, and drove off the attackers, enabled his boss to restart his engine, and safely return to home base, as the Commander's escort.

Between the two conflicts in the Far East, Parr dedicated himself to improving Air Force air-to-air jet fighter tactics. In the fall of 1967 he returned to combat, this time in Viet Nam, where he logged another 226 missions in F-4 fighters.

On one of these missions, during the enemy siege of several hundred Marines at Khe Sanh, Parr's extraordinary valor was again recognized, by the USMC when he earned the honor of the Air Force Cross.

On that day, Colonel Parr and his wingman were protecting USAF cargo aircraft attempting to resupply the Marines at a forward base. Nearby, a Marine Forward Air Controller [ FAC ] pilot, requested Parr to attack enemy mortar positions just 150 – 200 feet from the embattled Marines.

Only expertly dropped napalm bombs and accurate fire from his cannons could be used on the hazardous single run-in heading . . through smoke and haze . . complicated by karst mountains reaching up into low clouds in the immediate area.

In spite of the intense enemy fire, Parr countered with his napalm and cannon as he precisely released his napalm at extreme minimum altitude scoring a direct hit. During his second run, six well-camouflaged anti-aircraft guns revealed themselves . . five of them with four barrels each.

Each opened fire, making direct strikes on Parr's aircraft.

Later described by the FAC, the concentrated enemy fire was unbelievably intense ! Parr was advised by the Battalion Commander on several passes, that he was attacking into groundfire in excess of 1,000 rounds per second.

Parr said no and continued the ferocious strikes for eight runs . . down that same narrow run-in . .until all of his ordnance was gone . . destroying both mortars and all six enemy anti-aircraft guns firing at him.

The forward visibility, already marginal, deteriorated badly. And the heavy small-arms fire continued.

Parr's wingman was carrying 500 lb. bombs, so he led him in . . calling out each drop position for his wingman to eliminate. After a total of [ 10 ] ten passes, Parr and his wingman were done, and the cargo birds were able to continue resupplying the grateful Marines.

Two years later, Parr returned to Vietnam for second combat tour, this time as a Wing Commander in F-4s.

He managed to fly 201 additional combat sorties for an impressive total of 641 missions in three wars. By that time, Ralph Parr had earned so many prestigious medals for valor and leadership in combat, it's not practical for him to wear all of them at the same time.

The military aviation tactics devised and proven effective by Ralph Parr in Korea, then in Viet Nam, allowed the more effective destruction of enemy assets, while reducing U.S. casualties. And Parr's successful and innovative efforts serve to kindle, inspire, and encourage further innovative thinking among our military leaders.

Countless ground combat soldiers literally owe Ralph their lives and limbs. And our nation is deeply honored to have Ralph Parr as one of its greatest living heroes.

Now, in his early eighties, with someone to assist him to again buckle into his fighter, he would enter combat again to protect his country.

P.S. Without military heroes like Colonel Parr, there would NOT BE a United States Of America.


P. P. S. Please read on for current sad news on Ralph Parr from his friend, Ollie Crawford :

Gentlemen-----

I need your help--thoughts---ideas as to how we might help a great
American and Fighter Pilot by the name of Ralph Parr. As you know, he
is the highest decorated pilot in our Air Force with 60 U.S. and
foreign decorations.

He is the only person to have received both the Air Force Cross and the Distinguished Service Cross. He had five combat tours in three wars, 641 combat missions in four different types of aircraft and 8,000 hours all in fighters. He became a double ace in 7 weeks.

I just returned from New Braunfels Texas where Ralph Parr is
in an assisted living facility. He may have congestive heart failure
but no one has told him anything.

I have a feeling his wife can no longer take care of him so she farmed him out to McKenna Village. Where he's a very lonesome fighter pilot.

I hope to have LtGen Paul Myers and MGen Pre Ball meet him there. I have a call into both at the present time. Both are retired Air Force Surgeons and should take him under their wings.

Ralph Parr is at McKenna Village 2294 Common Street, New Braunfels, TX 78130, solo in room # 442.

Ralph's telephone : ( 830 ) 221-4800 [ switchboard ]

I need your help in getting the word around about Ralph Parr's present condition and how he may be contacted.

There is not a picture on the walls in his room and some of the River Rats are trying to locate a picture of an F-86 or F4.

Perhaps the folks at Air Force Magazine may have some ideas. BTW, he had only two magazines in his room, Air Force Magazine and the April Issue of Flight Journal which has a great story about him titled Jet-Age Gladiator.

His birthday is July 1 and the Randolph Air Power Council (which I
helped organize three years ago) could not secure reservations in the
Randolph Parr O'Club for a birthday gathering on that day so we have
moved it to July 8. That date may give us an opportunity to
recognize him in some way. Just a thought.

It is so sad to see such a great man neglected and forgotten.

I will take him to lunch or dinner at the very least a couple times a week so he will know that he is not forgotten. I will contact the local troops and try to get them involved. But many of his fellow Aces are his age and might only send their best.

Your thoughts please.

AIM HIGH

Ollie Crawford