Robert Parker from Michigan, Ingham county.
Service era: World War II
Parents: Earl C. Parker
Schools: Central High graduate, Michigan State college.
Date of death: November 15, 1943
Death details: Accounted for in 2021. In November 1943, Parker was a pilot assigned to the 35th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group. On Nov. 15, he was piloting a P-40N Warhawk fighter on a patrol mission with seven other P-40s over the Markham River Valley, New Guinea, when his formation encountered a swarm of enemy aircraft on the southern edge of the Finisterre Range. After shooting down one enemy aircraft, Parker collided with another, the impact shearing a wing off of each. The P-40 crashed near Sagarak, and it was reported that he did not eject. After an aerial search of the area found nothing, Parker was declared missing in action. In November 1944, the War Department issued a presumptive finding of death.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency