First Lieutenant Parker was a member of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 279th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. On 29 November 1952, he was the pilot of a LT-6G Mosquito control aircraft from the 6148th Tactical Air Control Squadron, 6147 Tactical Air Control Group. While on a combat mission, his aircraft received a direct hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashed. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

For his leadership and valor, First Lieutenant Parker was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.