Rank Insignia Previous Honoree ID Next Honoree ID


   
honoree image
First Name: Francis

Last Name: Parker

Birthplace: Abbeville, SC, USA

Gender: Male

Branch: Army (1784 - present)



Middle Name: LeJau



Date of Birth: 24 June 1873

Date of Death: 16 May 1966

Rank: Brigadier General

Years Served:
Francis LeJau Parker

   
Graduate, U.S. Military Academy, Class of 1894

Engagements:
•  Spanish-American War (1898)
•  World War I (1914 - 1918)

Biography:

Francis LeJau Parker
Brigadier General, U.S. Army

Francis LeJau Parker was born on 24 June 1873 in Abbeville, SC.

Parker was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy in 1890 and was an honor graduate of the class of 1894. After being commissioned a Second Lieutenant, he was assigned to the Fifth Cavalry at Fort Sam Houston and later, at Fort Ringgold, TX. In 1897 he was ordered back to Washington, DC, where he was an Instructor of Modern Languages.

During the Spanish-American War he served in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. In 1904 he was transferred to Fort Leavenworth, KS, to be an Instructor of Spanish and in 1908 attended the Army Staff College. In the same year, Parker was ordered back to the Philippines for a second tour of duty. His next assignment was as a Military Observer with the Romanian Armies during WWI followed by an assignment as a Military Attaché in Petrograd, Russia. His record earned him a temporary appointment to the rank of Colonel and he came back to the U.S. to take command of the 119th Infantry Regiment of the 30th National Guard Division at Camp Sevier. He later commanded the 312th Calvary at Fort Myer, VA, and served a brief tour with the General Staff in Washington.

In June of 1918, he was promoted to Brigadier General and assumed command of the 171st Brigade of the 86th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, which saw action in France, Belgium and Germany until June of 1919, when he returned to the U.S. to attend the General Staff College in Washington. The next few years found him as Commanding General of the First Cavalry, Chief of Staff of the Sixth Division, and Commanding General of the Second Field Artillery Brigade. In 1921 he became a Military Attaché in Mexico and, three years later, returned to Fort Sam Houston. He was later appointed Inspector General for the Sixth Corps area, headquartered in Chicago.

In 1927, Parker was named Vice Chairman of the American Electoral Mission to Nicaragua and, in 1929, was appointed Chief of the Bureau of Insular Affairs. He served his fourth tour of duty at Fort Sam Houston in 1933 and his final tour of foreign service came in 1934 when he was assigned as Commanding General of Fort Stotsenberg, in the Philippines. His last command was as Commanding General of the First Cavalry Division.

In his forty-two years of service, Parker had seen service in a dozen foreign lands in addition to various posts in the U.S. In addition to his original commission as a Cavalry Officer, he had commanded infantry and field artillery units, as well as having served in a number of staff positions.

In Retirement

After retiring from the Army, he settled in Charleston, his ancestral home, and became involved in several local societies, including the St. Cecilla Society, Society of the Colonial Wars, Charleston Club, Charleston Ancient Artillery Society, and the St. George's Society.

Death and Burial

Brigadier General Francis LeJau Parker died on 16 May 1966 in Charleston, SC. He is buried at Trinity Episcopal Church Cemetery in Abbeville, SC.



Honoree ID: 2935   Created by: MHOH

Ribbons


Medals


Badges


Honoree Photos

honoree imagehonoree imagehonoree image

honoree imagehonoree image

honoree image

Remembrances


Tributes