The Silver Dolphins of the 
 Submarine Service  

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"I saw the submariners, the way they stood aloof and silent, watching their pigboat with loving
eyes.  They are alone in the Navy. I admired the PT boys. And I often wondered how the
aviators had the courage to go out day after day and I forgave their boasting.
But the submariners!  In the entire fleet they stand apart!"

James Michener
Tales of The South Pacific

Maintained in honor of Thomas R. Parks USN Retired
15 August 1921  -  4 October 2000

 
       Welcome visitor!  By way of preface to these pages, let me say that Tom had requisitioned this website as a way of
telling his story for anyone who might have an interest and to identify himself to his fellow submariners both as a member of U.S.
Submarine Veterans of WWII and Ron Martini's Submarine BBS .... an internet community of note on the world wide web.  Tom's entire
web site can be entered through  this URL, for those who wish.

       With Old Gringo's!   recent passing, his family is committed to keep these pages online and available ........ as a small token of thanks to a great man.  The words are his.  This webmaster simply preformed the keystrokes as requested by a father, a man's man and an unassuming hero!

James Parks

 

The Submarine Service

I Have Been  called a lot of names in my lifetime and the one name of which I am proudest is "Submariner". That’s submareener not submariner.. I wore with great pride the dolphins of the United States Navy Submarine Service. Many of my forebears served in the United States Army starting in the Revolutionary War. My father James Glen Parks was the first of my family to join the Navy. He flew anti-submarine patrol with a naval aviation group out of France in WW1. My brother James Delos Parks enlisted in the Navy in 1937 and was MIA on USS Langley in 1942

I Joined  the Navy in 1939 and went to boot camp at the Naval Training Center in San Diego. That facility has since been de-commissioned. Because my father was in naval aviation and a favorit uncle was also in aviation I wanted to be an Aviation Machinist Mate but I wasn’t able to be assigned to the school. I decided to change my rate to Fireman so at least I could work around machinery.

My Brother's  ship, CV1 USS Langley  had been sent to the Asiatic Fleet and in 1940 I applied for transfer to that command so I could be with him. That was not to be either. When I got to Manila, Phillipine Islands I was assigned to USS Canopus, a submarine tender. I didn’t get to see Jim for more than a month. Within an hour after reporting aboard Canopus she weighed anchor and steamed out of Manila Bay. After nearly a month at sea getting to Manila, I didn’t put my feet on dry land for another 30 days.
 


Counters by Andale

 

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