MAP
Marine

About MAP

First Name:

Michael

Last Name:

Parker

Rank:

E-5

Do you own a business?:

No

Where did you attend bootcamp?:

MCRD San Diego

What date did you graduate bootcamp?:

Sept, 1976

What was your bootcamp platoon number?:

1067

Duty Stations:

ITS Camp Pendleton, California 1976
Okinawa & West Pac 1977
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina 1978
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba 1979

Year Entered Marine corps:

1976

Year Exited Marine Corps:

1980

Favorite Duty Station:

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

Favorite Marine:

PFC Keith A. Anderson RIP 7/10/77 Korea & Sgt. Smith RIP 10/21/77 Mindoro Island

Combat History:

No combat

Military Biography:

My first duty station was with Wpns Plt. Kilo 3/9 at Camp Schwab, Okinawa & Westpac 77. On July 10, 1977, during the Amphibious Exercise Sang Yong Vl with the Korean ROK Marines off Pohang, Korea, my team gunner, PFC Keith A. Anderson, was mortally wounded on the mess decks of the USS Schenectady by Pvt Timothy P. Ware. Ware waited for PFC Anderson to round a corner as he carried a heavy box of frozen meat up from the reefer below deck. Ware then buried a butcher knife in PFC Anderson's abdomen. Ware was convicted of murder. PFC Keith A. Anderson was not just a fine Marine, we were on the same team and came to know each other as well as brothers. He was indeed, another brother to me. On Oct. 21, 1977, during Operation Fortress Lightning on the island of Mindoro, Philippines, A CH53, after being fully loaded with part of the combat Marine "aggressor" force, picked up a water buffalo on mountain 434 then crashed and rolled down the steep mountain deep into the 3 canopy jungle below. The casualty list was historical. I was flown in as part of the initial search & rescue team. Rappelling down the rocky face of the mountain was the only way to reach the crash site and rescue the few who survived. It was a day none of those involved will ever forget. I was later transferred to Wpns Plt. Delta 1/6 at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. I was 1 one of 13 Marines in our Regiment selected for the annual “Super Squad” competition. We where detached from our units to spend 6 months training to represent our Regiment at the competition in Quantico, Virginia. My last duty station was Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. While stationed there, we were engaged in the historical “Mariel Boatlift”, the mass emigration of Cubans to America. In this humanitarian effort, Castro surreptitiously emptied his prisons and mental asylums and sent them with the rest of the Cuban population to America. Many of these Cubans entered America through the gates of Guantanamo Bay.

Current City:

Village of Hobart

Current State:

Wisconsin

Hometown:

Green Bay

Home State:

Wisconsin

High School:

Homestead High, Mequon, WI

Gender:

Male

Occupation:

MRI & Radiology Technologist

Colleges Attended:

University of WI Green Bay
NWTC

Interests:

Hunting & wood working

Favorite Quote:

"Prayer is a private audience granted to us by God." - St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletie

Favorite Color:

Green

Favorite Movie:

Bullitt - Steve McQueen 1968

Favorite Book:

Island of the World