THE SILVER DOLLAR
During WWIl , my father, Paul V Parkosewich, was a
Bombardier/Navigator in a B-26 Martin Maurader. He finished 47
bombing missions and earned the rank of Warrent Officer. With each
mission , he witnessed other B 26s being shot down and and feared
that his plane Skeeter would be next. He expressed this fear to a
Cathloic Priest who promptly gave him a silver dollar. "You must
return this to me when you have completed all your missions." the
priest said. This gesture gave my father hope .
Just before Andre was to leave for SEA, my father went next door and
gave him a Silver Dollar. "You need to return this when you come
home." my father said.
According to a first hand Vietnamese witness, Nguyen Van Dong,
among other things, a key chain attached to a silver dollar was
removed from one of the bodies of the Gombey 19 crash.
In a way, this silver dollar still gives us hope that we will one day see
Andre again.
Bombardier/Navigator in a B-26 Martin Maurader. He finished 47
bombing missions and earned the rank of Warrent Officer. With each
mission , he witnessed other B 26s being shot down and and feared
that his plane Skeeter would be next. He expressed this fear to a
Cathloic Priest who promptly gave him a silver dollar. "You must
return this to me when you have completed all your missions." the
priest said. This gesture gave my father hope .
Just before Andre was to leave for SEA, my father went next door and
gave him a Silver Dollar. "You need to return this when you come
home." my father said.
According to a first hand Vietnamese witness, Nguyen Van Dong,
among other things, a key chain attached to a silver dollar was
removed from one of the bodies of the Gombey 19 crash.
In a way, this silver dollar still gives us hope that we will one day see
Andre again.
| Below, WO Paul V Parkosewich standing to the far left below the nose of the aircraft |