TFH 7/9-10: ENS John Joseph Parle, USNR

John Joseph Parle was born on May 26, 1920 in Omaha, Nebraska. He graduated from Creighton University in Omaha in 1942 and received and officer's commission in the United States Naval Reserve at that time. He served on active duty for World War II with the United States Navy's USS LST-375 (tank landing ships being built so numerous and so fast, they weren't named!).

On the night of July 9-10, 1943, LST-375 approached the shores of Sicily along with the rest of the Anglo-American invasion fleet for Operation HUSKY. With just hours before the assault forces would stream ashore, Ensign Parle was the officer in charge of the LST's small boats and landing craft. When a fire broke out among ammunition and explosives, Perle recognized quickly that an accidental explosion would both damage his ship, kill many of her crew and the soldiers she carried, and alert the enemy ashore to the impending attack. The 23-year old Nebraskan acted:


From Medal of Honor Citations for World War II (M-S):

*PARLE, JOHN JOSEPH

Rank and organization: Ensign, U.S. Naval Reserve. Born: 26 May 1920, Omaha, Nebr. Accredited to: Nebraska. Citation: For valor and courage above and beyond the call of duty as Officer-in-Charge of Small Boats in the U.S.S. LST 375 during the amphibious assault on the island of Sicily, 9-10 July 1943. Realizing that a detonation of explosives would prematurely disclose to the enemy the assault about to be carried out, and with full knowledge of the peril involved, Ens. Parle unhesitatingly risked his life to extinguish a smoke pot accidentally ignited in a boat carrying charges of high explosives, detonating fuses and ammunition. Undaunted by fire and blinding smoke, he entered the craft, quickly snuffed out a burning fuse, and after failing in his desperate efforts to extinguish the fire pot, finally seized it with both hands and threw it over the side. Although he succumbed a week later from smoke and fumes inhaled, Ens. Parle's heroic self-sacrifice prevented grave damage to the ship and personnel and insured the security of a vital mission. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.

Ensign Parle today rests in peace at the Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Omaha. LST-375 went on to participate in the landings on the Italian mainland at Salerno in September 1943 as well as D-Day, the invasion of Normandy, June 6, 1944. She was scrapped after the war in 1948.

The Rudderow-class destroyer escort USS Parle (DE-708) was commissioned on July 29, 1944. The ship's sponsor was Ensign Parle's mother. She served in both the Atlantic and Pacific during the remainder of the war, and served on both active and reserve status until her final decommissioning and use as a target in 1970.