Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1954 Lucky Bag:

Eugene Hunt Parker

WATER POLO—3. SWIMMING—2. CROSS COUNTRY—3. FOOTBALL—4. STEEPLE CHASE—3. VOLLEYBALL—4,1.

Gene came to us after a year of real living at A.P.I. Finding life too easy going in the deep south, especially around Birmingham, he offered his services here at Navy Tech. Since the academics were no particular bother, he managed to become an active member of the Naval Academy Christian Association. He spent a great deal of time writing and receiving mail from a certain southern belle. Though Gene didn’t play the field with the women, he did with the sports. He might be termed a jack of all trades in that department, since he was on several of the sports squads that the twenty-first had to offer. Gene, with his good nature and easy going ways, will always be termed a southern gentleman, and he is certain to succeed in the career that he has chosen for himself.

Loss

Gene was lost when his AD-6 Skyraider crashed on December 6, 1957. (Information from Class of 1954 via email on June 8, 2017.)

The crash occurred off the coast of Florida; he was a member of Attack Squadron (VA) 105 flying from USS Essex.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

He graduated from Fairfield High School in 1949 and attended Auburn for one year studying Mechanical Engineering. Eugene entered the Naval Academy on a congressional appointment from Alabama’s 8th District.

He married Sylvia Alice Bradley on June 17 at Berney Points Baptist Church. In the same ceremony, her sister, Dorothy Jeanette became Mrs. Thomas F. Spencer, Jr. Eugene and Sylvia honeymooned in the Smokies.

Per The Pensacola News of September 23, 1956, Eugene had a total of 121 syllubus hours, 122 flying hours, and 71 syllubus hops. This brings his total Navy flying time to 1,010 hours. He along with another Saufley instructor attached to Basic Training Unit Two received recognition for the highest amount of flying times of any of the instructors that month.

Per The Tampa Tribune on January 20, 1957, Eugene was voted the outstanding single engine attack student from the naval air advanced training command between July 1955, and July 1956. He along with three others were given inscribed gold watches by the Texas Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution at Corpus Christi.

He was survived by his wife, Sylvia, and a two-month-old son, Eugene Jr. (Information from February 1958 issue of Shipmate.) He was also survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Ray Parker, and a brother Robert. Eugene has a memory marker in Alabama.

Photographs

From his high school yearbook

From the Birmingham News on December 8, 1957

From the Post Herald on July 18, 1953

From the Post Herald on May 24, 1954