Chick Parsons
Encyclopedia
Charles Thomas Parsons, Jr. (also known as Chick Parsons) was a businessman, diplomat
, and decorated World War II
veteran
. He was born April 22, 1902, in Shelbyville
, Tennessee
. Parsons died in May 1988, survived by his four sons, Michael, Peter, Patrick and Jose.
occurred because two of his uncles had gone there to seek their fortune. Their letters home ignited Charles' imagination and sense of adventure. As a result, he took courses in shorthand
and Spanish
while in school at Chattanooga. After graduating from school, he held a job as a court reporter
for a year or two. Then in 1921, at the age of 19, he arrived at Manila
after working across the Pacific as a crewman on a freighter. His knowledge of shorthand and Spanish allowed him to qualify as secretary to U.S. Governor-General
Leonard Wood
. For three years, Parsons traveled throughout the Philippines with Wood and got to know the Filipino people, learning their language and customs, as well as picking up knowledge of Philippine geography. All this would serve him well when he later went into business for himself and served an a U.S. naval officer during the war years.
A postgraduate course in commerce and his increased fluency in the local dialects allowed Parsons to find work with the Philippine Telephone and Telegraph Company. Then in 1927, he went to Zamboanga
in Mindanao
as a buyer of logs and lumber for the Meyer Muzzell Company. This company, financed by Mayor James Rolph
of San Francisco, exported timber to the United States. This job required Parsons to travel extensively throughout Mindanao, learning details about the island and its inhabitants that would save his life many times during World War II.
The Philippines had become like home to Parsons. While at Zamboanga, he met and married Katrushka (Katsy) Jurika, daughter of Stephen Jurika, a naturalized Czechoslovakian, and Blanche Walker, of Oxnard, California. At that time, Parsons was 30 years old and Katrushka was only 15, but their marriage was solid and quickly produced three sons — Michael, Peter and Patrick. The Parsons family moved to Manila in 1929, where Charles took a job managing the Luzon Stevedoring Company as "boss stevedore," which operated a fleet of tugboats, chrome and manganese mines, and other activities. Other business interests included managing the North American Trading and Importing Company, which produced alcohol from molasses discarded from sugar refining, and the La Insula Cigar and Cigarette Factory, one of the largest tobacco interests in the Philippines and owed by Spanish royalty. Ironically, due to a Filipino law requiring a 60% American or Filipino interest in a foreign company operating in the Philippines, Parsons also became president of Nihon Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, a Japanese mining company.
In 1929, according to Ingham (1945), he also made another important career decision. He joined the U.S. Naval Reserve as a Lieutenant (jg), and took active duty with the Pacific fleet whenever possible. However, Peter Parsons, his son, states that his father joined the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1932, and was assigned to submarines.
By the fall of 1941, Charles Parsons was thirty-nine years old and anticipating an early retirement, as well as spending more time enjoying his hobby of polo. He had previously help organize the Los Tamaros Club in Manila to insure high-quality polo
games in Manila. Parsons was proud to be the "only polo-playing stevedore in the world." Then, on the night of December 8, 1941, a fellow reserve officer woke Parsons up and informed him that the entire personnel and equipment of the Luzon Stevedoring Company had been taken into the U.S. Navy. Parsons was immediately sworn into active duty as a full Lieutenant. The Japanese had bombed the Philippines.
, he also burned his Navy uniforms as he was not retreating to Bataan with the rest of the American-Filipino forces. Before World War II
broke out in the Philippines, Charles Parsons' wife, sons and Blanche Jurika, his mother-in-law, had not been evacuated with other military dependents, as the Philippines was their home. In early January, they awoke one day to find a Japanese sentry at the gate to their house, along with a sign stating that the house was now the property of the Imperial Japanese government.
Since 1940, some Danish ships had been interned in the Philippines, as Denmark
had been conquered by Germany. When American entered the war, these ships were seized and registered under the Panamanian
flag. Because of this, Charles Parsons had added another title to his list when he agreed to serve as the temporary Panamanian consul until one could be dispatched from Panama. As a result, he had identification papers, with corresponding documents in Manila's government house, identifying him as such. While watching the Japanese sentry, it suddenly occurred to Parsons that he could use this position to obtain diplomatic immunity as a citizen of a neutral country. From that moment on he and his family spoke only Spanish while they were in Japanese-controlled territory. That same day, their home was designated as the Panamanian Consulate by the Japanese and they continued to live there in relative freedom. It is interesting to note that before the war, Parsons had worked with numerous Japanese citizens, some of whom became his friends, who knew of Parsons' position in the U.S. Naval Reserve. At least one of these Japanese acquaintances, "Pete" Yamanuchi, was now a Japanese naval officer. However, none of these Japanese informed on him to the occupying Japanese forces.
Ironically, once again, due to his knowledge of the Philippines and his previous business activities, Japanese businessmen offered Parsons a position as manager of several mines, some of them his own. Parsons kindly refused, citing his diplomatic position and other responsibilities as the reason. However, Charles and Katsy Parsons, and Blanche Jurika used their time in Manila to obtain information on the Japanese and their activities, to communicate and even visit with American and Filipino soldiers who had fled to the nearby hills and jungles, and to obtain information on American prisoners held by the Japanese. Charles Parsons often did this dressed as a Filipino in peasant clothes, the disguise enhanced by his deeply tanned skin obtained from years in the tropical sun.
However, after the Doolittle Raid
on Japan in April 1942, the attitude of the Japanese occupying forces changed toward all Caucasians, even those from non-belligerent nations. Parsons was among those arrested and held for a period of time and tortured, then released because of his Panamanian diplomatic status and permitted to leave with his family in June 1942. Once his family was safely settled in the United States, he volunteered his services to help the Allied forces in the Pacific, reporting to General MacArthur.
Parsons’ extensive knowledge of the Philippines
and its culture plus an established network of trusted contacts made it possible for him to travel throughout the vast archipelago
and communicate effectively with Filipino
and American
guerrillas, escaping enemy detection. During the Japanese occupation
, Parsons undertook eight secret submarine
missions to the Philippines, as well as several more by air, supplying guerrillas with arms, radio
equipment, medicine
and other supplies. His first such mission was to Mindanao
to and supply and evaluate Lt. Col Wendell Fertig
's guerrilla organization. He also organized and maintained extensive intelligence networks and coastwatcher radio stations throughout the country, which transmitted Japanese troop movements to the allied forces.
In 1944, Parsons returned to Leyte
nine days ahead of MacArthur to help prepare the guerrillas for the invasion. Later, he accompanied the first troops into Manila where he arranged supplies for the starving civilians newly liberated from the Santo Tomas Internment Camp. After the war, Parsons resumed his business activities in Manila and assisted in rebuilding the country.
from the United States
, two Navy Cross
es from the United States, the Bronze Star
from the United States, the Order of Saint Sylvester from the Vatican
, the Order of Vasco Nunez Balboa from Panama
, the Legion of Honor
from the Philippines
, and the Medal of Valor
also from the Philippines
. He never requested the Purple Heart
for the several times he was wounded in skirmishes with Japanese troops, once by a saber that opened up the right side of his neck.
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
, and decorated World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
. He was born April 22, 1902, in Shelbyville
Shelbyville, Tennessee
Shelbyville is a city in Bedford County, Tennessee, United States. It had a local population of 16,105 residents at the 2000 census. Shelbyville, the county seat of Bedford County, was laid out in 1810 and incorporated in 1819...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. Parsons died in May 1988, survived by his four sons, Michael, Peter, Patrick and Jose.
Pre-war years
Charles Parsons' interest in the PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
occurred because two of his uncles had gone there to seek their fortune. Their letters home ignited Charles' imagination and sense of adventure. As a result, he took courses in shorthand
Shorthand
Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed or brevity of writing as compared to a normal method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek stenos and graphē or graphie...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
while in school at Chattanooga. After graduating from school, he held a job as a court reporter
Court reporter
A court reporter, stenotype reporter, voice writing reporter, or transcriber is a person whose occupation is to transcribe spoken or recorded speech into written form, using machine shorthand or voice writing equipment to produce official transcripts of court hearings, depositions and other...
for a year or two. Then in 1921, at the age of 19, he arrived at Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
after working across the Pacific as a crewman on a freighter. His knowledge of shorthand and Spanish allowed him to qualify as secretary to U.S. Governor-General
Governor-General of the Philippines
The Governor-General of the Philippines was the title of the government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, governed mainly by Spain and the United States, and briefly by Great Britain, from 1565 to 1935....
Leonard Wood
Leonard Wood
Leonard Wood was a physician who served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Military Governor of Cuba and Governor General of the Philippines. Early in his military career, he received the Medal of Honor. Wood also holds officer service #2 in the Regular Army...
. For three years, Parsons traveled throughout the Philippines with Wood and got to know the Filipino people, learning their language and customs, as well as picking up knowledge of Philippine geography. All this would serve him well when he later went into business for himself and served an a U.S. naval officer during the war years.
A postgraduate course in commerce and his increased fluency in the local dialects allowed Parsons to find work with the Philippine Telephone and Telegraph Company. Then in 1927, he went to Zamboanga
Zamboanga City
The City of Zamboanga : is a highly urbanized, independent and a chartered city located in Mindanao, Philippines....
in Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
as a buyer of logs and lumber for the Meyer Muzzell Company. This company, financed by Mayor James Rolph
James Rolph
James “Sunny Jim” Rolph, Jr. was an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He was elected to a single term as the 27th governor of California from January 6, 1931 until his death on June 2, 1934 at the height of the Great Depression...
of San Francisco, exported timber to the United States. This job required Parsons to travel extensively throughout Mindanao, learning details about the island and its inhabitants that would save his life many times during World War II.
The Philippines had become like home to Parsons. While at Zamboanga, he met and married Katrushka (Katsy) Jurika, daughter of Stephen Jurika, a naturalized Czechoslovakian, and Blanche Walker, of Oxnard, California. At that time, Parsons was 30 years old and Katrushka was only 15, but their marriage was solid and quickly produced three sons — Michael, Peter and Patrick. The Parsons family moved to Manila in 1929, where Charles took a job managing the Luzon Stevedoring Company as "boss stevedore," which operated a fleet of tugboats, chrome and manganese mines, and other activities. Other business interests included managing the North American Trading and Importing Company, which produced alcohol from molasses discarded from sugar refining, and the La Insula Cigar and Cigarette Factory, one of the largest tobacco interests in the Philippines and owed by Spanish royalty. Ironically, due to a Filipino law requiring a 60% American or Filipino interest in a foreign company operating in the Philippines, Parsons also became president of Nihon Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, a Japanese mining company.
In 1929, according to Ingham (1945), he also made another important career decision. He joined the U.S. Naval Reserve as a Lieutenant (jg), and took active duty with the Pacific fleet whenever possible. However, Peter Parsons, his son, states that his father joined the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1932, and was assigned to submarines.
By the fall of 1941, Charles Parsons was thirty-nine years old and anticipating an early retirement, as well as spending more time enjoying his hobby of polo. He had previously help organize the Los Tamaros Club in Manila to insure high-quality polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
games in Manila. Parsons was proud to be the "only polo-playing stevedore in the world." Then, on the night of December 8, 1941, a fellow reserve officer woke Parsons up and informed him that the entire personnel and equipment of the Luzon Stevedoring Company had been taken into the U.S. Navy. Parsons was immediately sworn into active duty as a full Lieutenant. The Japanese had bombed the Philippines.
Under Japanese occupation
During the early days of the war, Lieutenant Parsons worked resupplying American submarines which came into Manila Bay, or relocating supplies to Bataan and Corregidor. As the Japanese army approached Manila at the end of 1941, Parsons spent New Year's Eve destroying what was left of the Navy's supplies in Manila, as well as the contents of the warehouses belonging to his various companies. Although recently promoted to Lieutenant CommanderLieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
, he also burned his Navy uniforms as he was not retreating to Bataan with the rest of the American-Filipino forces. Before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
broke out in the Philippines, Charles Parsons' wife, sons and Blanche Jurika, his mother-in-law, had not been evacuated with other military dependents, as the Philippines was their home. In early January, they awoke one day to find a Japanese sentry at the gate to their house, along with a sign stating that the house was now the property of the Imperial Japanese government.
Since 1940, some Danish ships had been interned in the Philippines, as Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
had been conquered by Germany. When American entered the war, these ships were seized and registered under the Panamanian
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
flag. Because of this, Charles Parsons had added another title to his list when he agreed to serve as the temporary Panamanian consul until one could be dispatched from Panama. As a result, he had identification papers, with corresponding documents in Manila's government house, identifying him as such. While watching the Japanese sentry, it suddenly occurred to Parsons that he could use this position to obtain diplomatic immunity as a citizen of a neutral country. From that moment on he and his family spoke only Spanish while they were in Japanese-controlled territory. That same day, their home was designated as the Panamanian Consulate by the Japanese and they continued to live there in relative freedom. It is interesting to note that before the war, Parsons had worked with numerous Japanese citizens, some of whom became his friends, who knew of Parsons' position in the U.S. Naval Reserve. At least one of these Japanese acquaintances, "Pete" Yamanuchi, was now a Japanese naval officer. However, none of these Japanese informed on him to the occupying Japanese forces.
Ironically, once again, due to his knowledge of the Philippines and his previous business activities, Japanese businessmen offered Parsons a position as manager of several mines, some of them his own. Parsons kindly refused, citing his diplomatic position and other responsibilities as the reason. However, Charles and Katsy Parsons, and Blanche Jurika used their time in Manila to obtain information on the Japanese and their activities, to communicate and even visit with American and Filipino soldiers who had fled to the nearby hills and jungles, and to obtain information on American prisoners held by the Japanese. Charles Parsons often did this dressed as a Filipino in peasant clothes, the disguise enhanced by his deeply tanned skin obtained from years in the tropical sun.
However, after the Doolittle Raid
Doolittle Raid
The Doolittle Raid, on 18 April 1942, was the first air raid by the United States to strike the Japanese Home Islands during World War II. By demonstrating that Japan itself was vulnerable to American air attack, it provided a vital morale boost and opportunity for U.S. retaliation after the...
on Japan in April 1942, the attitude of the Japanese occupying forces changed toward all Caucasians, even those from non-belligerent nations. Parsons was among those arrested and held for a period of time and tortured, then released because of his Panamanian diplomatic status and permitted to leave with his family in June 1942. Once his family was safely settled in the United States, he volunteered his services to help the Allied forces in the Pacific, reporting to General MacArthur.
Parsons’ extensive knowledge of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
and its culture plus an established network of trusted contacts made it possible for him to travel throughout the vast archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
and communicate effectively with Filipino
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
guerrillas, escaping enemy detection. During the Japanese occupation
Japanese occupation of the Philippines
The Japanese occupation of the Philippines was the period in the history of the Philippines between 1942 and 1945, when the Empire of Japan occupied the previously American-controlled Philippines during World War II....
, Parsons undertook eight secret submarine
Allied submarines in the Pacific War
Allied submarines were used extensively during the Pacific War and were a key contributor to the defeat of the Empire of Japan. During the war, submarines of the United States Navy were responsible for 55% of Japan's merchant marine losses; other Allied navies added to the toll. The war against...
missions to the Philippines, as well as several more by air, supplying guerrillas with arms, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
equipment, medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
and other supplies. His first such mission was to Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
to and supply and evaluate Lt. Col Wendell Fertig
Wendell Fertig
Wendell Fertig was an American civil engineer, in the American-administered Commonwealth of the Philippines, who organized and commanded an American-Filipino guerrilla force on the Japanese-occupied, southern Philippine island of Mindanao during World War II.Fertig held a U.S...
's guerrilla organization. He also organized and maintained extensive intelligence networks and coastwatcher radio stations throughout the country, which transmitted Japanese troop movements to the allied forces.
In 1944, Parsons returned to Leyte
Leyte
Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
nine days ahead of MacArthur to help prepare the guerrillas for the invasion. Later, he accompanied the first troops into Manila where he arranged supplies for the starving civilians newly liberated from the Santo Tomas Internment Camp. After the war, Parsons resumed his business activities in Manila and assisted in rebuilding the country.
Awards
For his distinguished military and public service, Parsons was awarded the Distinguished Service CrossDistinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, two Navy Cross
Navy Cross
The Navy Cross is the highest decoration that may be bestowed by the Department of the Navy and the second highest decoration given for valor. It is normally only awarded to members of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard, but can be awarded to all...
es from the United States, the Bronze Star
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
from the United States, the Order of Saint Sylvester from the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
, the Order of Vasco Nunez Balboa from Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, the Legion of Honor
Philippine Legion of Honor
The Philippine Legion of Honor was established by President Manuel Roxas, through Philippine Army Circular No. 60 dated July 3, 1947. The Philippine Legion of Honor was patterned after the Legion of Merit of the United States of America, and was meant to honor both civilians and members of the...
from the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, and the Medal of Valor
Philippine Medal of Valor
The Philippine Medal of Valor is the highest military award given to members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and allied military personnel. It is awarded by the President of the Republic of the Philippines to military personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, including recognized...
also from the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. He never requested the Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
for the several times he was wounded in skirmishes with Japanese troops, once by a saber that opened up the right side of his neck.