Edwin Charles Parsons
Edwin Charles Parsons | |
---|---|
Air Service, United States Army United States Navy | |
Years of service | 1915–1918 1934–1945 |
Rank | Rear Admiral |
Unit | Aéronautique Militaire
|
Battles/wars | ![]() ![]() World War I World War II Mexican Revolution |
Awards | Legion d'Honneur (France) Médaille militaire (France) Croix de Guerre (France) Order of Leopold II (Belgium) Croix de Guerre (Belgium) |
Other work | FBI agent, author, and naval officer |
Edwin Charles Parsons (September 24, 1892 – May 2, 1968) was a
Early life
Born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Parsons graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1910 and after attending the University of Pennsylvania, moved to California, where he learned to fly at Dominguez Field, Carson,[1] in 1912,[2] then spent 1913–1915 in the Mexican Army's Aviation Corps. At one point, Pancho Villa wanted him to train airmen; however, Villa's raid on Columbus, New Mexico scotched Parsons' interest.[2]
Parsons was brevetted by Villa as a Captain at a salary of $200 per month, payable in gold. Parsons' attempt to teach some of Villa's cavalrymen to fly foundered on their lack of mechanical ability. Parsons also is reported to have been responsible for purchasing and later flying a
World War I
Thus Parsons was an experienced combat pilot when the war began. In late 1915, he traveled to
He later elected to stay in the French air service instead of transferring to the USAAS when his unit was Americanized in February 1918.[2] He was assigned to the French squadron SPA3 in 1918 where he was credited with an additional 7 victories for a total of 8 victories confirmed.[5] Parsons was a tangential figure in a spectacular performance on May 9. It was sparked by a disagreement between
List of aerial victories
See also Aerial victory standards of World War I
Confirmed victories are numbered and listed chronologically. Unconfirmed victories are denoted by "u/c" and may or may not be listed by date.
No. | Date/time | Aircraft | Foe | Result | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 4, 1917 @ 0940 hours | Nieuport | Rumpler reconnaissance plane | Destroyed | Neuilly | |
2 | May 6, 1918 @ 1715 hours | Spad
|
German two-seater | Destroyed | West of Montdidier | |
3 | May 16, 1918 @ 0945 hours | Spad | German two-seater | Destroyed | Montdidier | |
4 | May 19, 1918 @ 1220 hours | Spad | German two-seater | Destroyed | Montdidier | Shared victory with two French pilots |
5 | May 20, 1918 @ 0915 hours | Spad | German two-seater | Destroyed | Gratibus | |
6 | August 26, 1918 | Spad | Fokker D.VII | Destroyed | Morchain | |
7 | September 26, 1918 @ 1800 hours | Spad | German two-seater | Destroyed | South of Tahure | Victory shared with Pierre Pendaries and another French pilot |
8 | October 1, 1918 @ 1510 hours | Spad | German two-seater | Destroyed | Somme-Py[7]
|
Between the World Wars
When the war ended, Parsons returned to the United States and joined the
With the help the film director and former World War I aviator William A. Wellman, Parsons was hired by Paramount as a technical consultant, working on the Oscar-winning Wings (1927), and on Howard Hughes epic Hell's Angels (1930), amongst others. Parsons also worked as a screenwriter, occasional actor, and technical director.[10] He wrote articles for magazines, as well as authoring a book. He also wrote and narrated a radio series about his experiences, Heroes of the Lafayette.[8] Whilst in Hollywood in the mid 1930s he was a member of the Hollywood Hussars militia cavalry unit.
World War II
Having joined the
The French government awarded him the Légion d'honneur in 1961.[8] He died at 75 in 1968, the last of the Lafayette Escadrille flying aces,[11] and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.[12]
See also
References
- ^ "Edwin C. Parsons Scrapbooks 1914–1924". siris-archives.si.edu. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
- ^ a b c d SPAD XII/XIII aces of World War I. p. 16.
- ^ Conquistadors of the Sky: A History of Aviation in Latin America. pp. 106, 108.
- ^ a b c d American Aces of World War 1. p. 20.
- ^ "Edwin Charles Parsons". theaerodrome.com. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
- ^ "Frank Leaman Baylies". theaerodrome.com. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
- ^ "Edwin Charles Parsons". theaerodrome.com. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
- ^ a b c SPAD XII/XIII aces of World War I. p. 18.
- ^ a b c "Edwin C. Parsons". earlyaviators.com. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
- ^ a b Dale L. Walker (First Quarter 1978). "The Ted Parsons Story". Aviation Quarterly. Four (One). Archived from the original on November 26, 2010. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
- ^ "Milestones". Time. May 10, 1968. Archived from the original on October 29, 2010. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
- ^ "Burial Detail: Parsons, Edwin C". ANC Explorer. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
Bibliography
- Edwin C. Parsons, The Great Adventure: The Story of the Lafayette Escadrille. Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., 1937.
- Also published as I Flew With the Lafayette Escadrille. E. C. Seale, 1963. [ISBN missing]
- Edwin C. Parsons, Flight into Hell: The Story of the Lafayette Escadrille. J. Long, Limited, 1938.
- Harry Dempsey, American Aces of World War 1. Osprey Publishing, 2001. ISBN 978-1-84176-375-0.
- Dan Hagedorn, Conquistadors of the Sky: A History of Aviation in Latin America. University Press of Florida, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8130-3249-8.
- Jon Guttman, SPAD XII/XIII aces of World War I.Osprey Publishing, 2002. ISBN 978-1841763163.