Thomas H. Parkinson
Thomas Hopwood “Tommy” Parkinson was born 15 May 1926 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, the son of Clifford Thomas Hopwood Parkinson and Esther (nee Levis) Parkinson. His Father died on 13 May, 1928 in Philadelphia, PA, and was buried in the Western Cemetery in Upper Darby, Delaware County, PA. Thomas lived for a time with his Paternal Uncle in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, and then in September 1935, he entered the Hershey Industrial School system. Thomas H. Parkinson completed four years of High School and was a member of the Class of 1945, but in June 1944 he left school early to join the U.S. Army.
On 05 June 1944, Thomas H. Parkinson entered the U.S. Army and on 06 June 1944, he was sent to New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, and then on 20 June 1944, he was sent to Fort McClellan, Alabama. Thomas H. Parkinson finished basic training on 14 October 1944, and then volunteered for Parachute Service. He was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia to complete Parachute training. On 24 November 1944, Tommy received his certificate as a Qualified Parachutist. He was assigned to the 513th Parachute Infantry of 17th Airborne, “Golden Talon” Division. On 12 January 1945, Thomas Hopwell Parkinson was sent to Fort Meade, Maryland to await his orders for overseas deployment. On 18 January 1945, he was sent to France, where he joined his unit, and was plunged into the most infamous Battle of World War II, The Battle of the Bulge. . htmlBattle of the Bulge – The Ardennes Offensive. From 23 to 25 December 1944, elements of the Division were flown to the Reims area in France in spectacular night flights. These elements closed in at Mourmelon. After taking over the defense of the Meuse River sector from Givet to Verdun, 25 December 1944, the 17th moved to Neufchateau, Belgium, then marched through the snow to Morhet, relieving the 28th Infantry Division, on 3 January 1945. The 17th Division entered the Ardennes campaign, 4 to 9 January 1945, at the Battle of Dead Man’s Ridge. It captured several small Belgian towns and entered Flamierge, on 7 January 1945, but enemy counterattacks necessitated a withdrawal. However, constant pressure and aggressive patrolling caused the enemy to retreat to the Our River. On 18 January 1945, the Division relieved the 11th Armored Division at Houffalize, pushed enemy remnants from the Bulge, and seized Wattermal and Espeler, 26 January 1945. Coming under the III Corps, the 17th turned toward Luxembourg, taking Eschweiler and Clervaux and clearing the enemy from the west bank of the Our River. Aggressive patrols crossed the river to probe the Siegfried Line defenses and established a limited bridgehead near Dasburg before being relieved by the 6th Armored Division, 10 February 1945.
Operation Varsity – The Airborne Assault on the Rhine. In early February 1945, the tide of battle was such as to enable an accurate estimate as to when and where the 2nd British Army would be ready to force a crossing of the Rhine River. It was determined that the crossing would be in conjunction with an airborne operation by XVIII Airborne Corps. The sector selected for the assault was in the vicinity of Wesel, just north of the Ruhr, for 24 March 1945. Operation Varsity would be the last full scale airborne drop of World War II and the assignment went to the 17th Airborne Division with the 507th spearheading the assault dropping at the southern edge of the Diersfordter Forest, three mile northwest of Wesel.
Finally, on the 24th March 1945, taking off from marshalling areas in France in nearly perfect weather, nearly 4000 aircraft from the British 6th Airborne Division and the 17th US Airborne Division dropped fighting men behind enemy lines, into Westphalia in the vicinity of Weselon which was east of the Rhine River. Their mission was to capture key points and so assist the advance of the ground troops. Having learned the lessons from the Arnhem battle, the gliders and paratroops landed close to their targets and achieved total success.
The 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment was the second divisional unit to land, and was under the command of Colonel James Coutts. En route to the drop zone, the transport aircraft containing the regiment had the misfortune to pass through a belt of German anti-aircraft weapons, losing twenty-two of the C-46 transport aircraft and damaging a further thirty-eight. Just as the 507th had, the 513th also suffered from pilot error due to the ground haze, and as such the regiment actually missed their designated drop zone, and were dropped on one of the landing zones designated for the British 6th Airlanding Brigade. However, despite this inaccuracy the paratroopers swiftly rallied and aided the British glider-borne troops who were landing simultaneously, eliminating several German artillery batteries which were covering the area.
Once the German troops in the area had been eliminated, a combined force of American and British airborne troops stormed Hamminkeln and secured that town. By 14:00, Colonel Coutts reported to the Divisional Headquarters that the 513th had secured all of its objectives, having knocked out two tanks and destroyed two complete regiments of artillery during its assault. During its attempts to secure its objectives, the regiment also gained a third Medal of Honor for the division when Private First Class Stuart S. Stryker posthumously received the award after leading a charge against a German machine gun nest, creating a distraction to allow the rest of his platoon to capture the fortified position the machine gun was situated in.
Operation Varsity was the first airborne invasion over the Rhine into Germany itself. On the 25th, the Division had secured bridges over the Issel River and had entrenched itself firmly along the Issel Canal. Moving eastward, it captured Haltern, 29 March, and Munster, 2 April 1945. The 17th entered the battle of the Ruhr Pocket, relieving the 79th Infantry Division. It crossed the Rhine-Herne Canal, on 6 April 1945, and set up a secure bridgehead for the attack on Essen. The “Pittsburgh of the Ruhr” fell, 10 April 1945, and the industrial cities of Mulheim and Duisburg were cleared in the continuing attack.
In terms of casualties, the 17th suffered a total of 1,346 casualties between 24 and 29 March 1945. Private First Class Thomas Hopwood “Tommy” Parkinson was among those Killed In Action on 24 March 1945.
He was buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, Eijsden-Margraten Municipality, Limburg, Netherlands in Plot: E Row: 17 Grave: 10. He was survived by his mother, Esther (nee Levis) Parkinson and other relatives.