Obit of the Day: The Last Surviving Naval Doctor from Omaha Beach
On June 6, 1944 Dr. Lee Parker landed on Omaha Beach along with other members of the 6th Naval Beach Battalion. Dr. Parker would spend 19 days on the beach caring for the wounded and dying. After returning home he was reassigned to the Pacific theater before returning to civilian life as a doctor.
Dr. Parker grew up in Georgia and graduated from the University of Georgia’s medical school. He was completing his residency at University Hospital in Augusta when he joined the Navy in 1943. He served first on Parris Island in South Carolina before shipping out to London. In an interview, Dr. Parker lnoted that he never received any additional medical training, the Navy assumed his medical background was enough.
On June 6, when the 6th Beach Battalion came ashore Dr. Parker was dropped off in neck deep water. At that point he made a decision that saved his life - he didn’t inflate his lifebelt. The belts were worn incorrectly by most soldiers and sailors causing hundreds to drown when the inflated lifebelts pushed their bodies and faces forward into the water.
According to Kenneth Davey, who has done several interviews with members of the 6th Beach Battalion, Dr. Parker was the last surviving Naval doctor on Omaha Beach. Dr. Parker passed away on September 27, 2012 at the age of 95.
Note: In August 2012, Joseph Vaghi, the last beachmaster at D-Day and also a member of the 6th Beach Battalion, passed away.
Images:
Top Left - Dr. Parker examining patients at Camp LeJeune
Top Right - Dr. Parker working at the Parris Island (S.C.) Marine Barracks
(Both courtesy of the U.S. 6th Naval Beach Battalion website)
Bottom - Dr. Parker, 2004, displaying some of his mementos from D-Day including his map of the beach. (Copyright Alan Sullivan/Athens Banner-Herald)
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