under the sun
THE BRUNSW1CK&BEAC0N D
THURSDAY. OCTOBER 10. 1991 | ^
Friend Of Veterans
Heading West With Busy Retirement Plans
tr" ? ? i ?
II Y TKKKY I'OPK
Jess Parker will leave next week foj the slate of
Washington. Along with the usual luggage, Parker
will carry with him some unfinished manuscripts
he hopes to complete and publish while in retirement
there.
"Like all aspiring writers, I have about six b<x>ks
that are half done," said Parker.
His last day at the Brunswick County Veteran's
Services office is Oct. 17. He plans to move on the 20th
to Sumner, a small town of about 5,(XX) people just east
of Tacoma.
"1 know I'm not going to sit at home and not be
come involved," said Parker, who has headed the local
veteran's office for eight years. "One of the things thai
I'm going to miss when leaving here is my involvement
with the community."
Parker is one of 85 county veteran services officers
in North Carolina whose job is to aid veterans and their
widows in the filing of claims and when seeking assis
tance. There arc also five state district officers that
work for the N.C. Division of Veteran Affairs.
During Parker's tenure at Brunswick County, he
he I [icd establish an honor roll of county natives who
have died in battle. A plaque that hangs in the county
administration building at the government complex in
Bolivia bears the name of veterans who gave their life
for America's freedom, soldiers from the Revolutionary
War to the most recent conflicts.
"That is still a unique memorial," said Parker. "It
has at least one member from each branch of scrvice."
The N.C. Association of Veteran's Services Officers
met last month in Wrightsvillc Beach, where they pre
sented Parker with a certificate of appreciation for his
years of service.
In eulogies he delivers on behalf of veterans, Parker
repeats a simple message but one that helps identify a
special bond, "Veterans show a kinship that transcends
all other relationships, because we arc military veterans."
Born at Walden's Creek, a community near
Southport, Parker served 22 years in the U.S. Navy. He
grew up in the Mill Creek community and attended
Bolivia School until his parents moved to New Hanover
County in 1945.
In 1980, he returned to Brunswick County and soon
thereafter became head of the veteran's office, succeed
ing Cleon Hcwctt.
"It was like coming home," said Parker. "I was a
native but had been gone for over 30 years. 1 always tell
people, you can be a newcomer in Brunswick County
for as long as you want to be."
The first book he hopes to complete is an account of
naval actions during World War II, but told from a dif
ferent perspective.
"All of us know about World War II from the eyes
of the admirals and high-ranking officials," said Parker.
"No one knows the history from the eyes of the enlisted
men."
Parker was a student of politics, which should serve
well for another novel he's planning that will feature lo
cal and state government officials he has met, only this
story will be fictionalized.
Other books in the works will feature the 22-year
naval career of someone with "sea stories and lies" to
share and another on the advent of a hurricane season,
from his years of living on the Brunswick County coast.
Retirement, Parker said, isn't a time to settle down
and quietly become inactive. He tells his friends,
"Someone has to go along to bail the hooks."
"One of my concerns is how ihis office will be han
dled by county government when I leave," said Parker,
who hopes his longtime assistant, Judy Hayes, is pro
moted to fill his scat.
a
JESS PARKER hopes veteran services won't be overlooked in Brunswick County
HOI
STAf F photo by timy pop*
after he leaves for retirement next week.
anc s mc logical one to Like over," said Parker.
"The Veteran's Service office is too important to the
community not to be supported by county government."
But for Parker, it hasn't been all work ? there have
been the fun times as well.
He recently passed his title as "Head Bullshooter"
to a succcssor, Cccelia Gore of Ash. Parker founded the
Brunswick County Bullshooting Contest in 1984 as an
outlet for frustrated veterans who had a lew things to
gel off their chest.
The contest expanded and is now an annual story
telling event offered as part of the entertainment at the
N.C. Oyster Festival held next weekend at Seaside. It is
now called North Carolina's Greatest Bullshooting
Contest.
"We had an unhappy group of veterans that had
been fighting with county government," said Parker,
who called for a countywidc bull session for veterans
and non-veterans to get together and to talk.
"We decided that night to crown a champion," said
Parker. That champion was Henry Williams of
Shallotte. The following year. Foxy Howard of
Southport was the winner.
In 1986, the contest became part of the Oyster
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"It is a moment in time of nothing but fun," said
Parker. "Anyone could participate, only you had to be
cither a veteran or a non-veteran. It just caught us in a
moment of time."
Parker is also the designer of the official Brunswick
County flag that flies in front of the government com
plex in Bolivia.
The move to Washington will be like going home
again, for it's where Parker spent years raising a family.
He has granddaughters there that he wants to visit lor
the first time.
On the 17th, he'll clear the war memorabilia from
his office wall and head West.
"This is the only job I've had where I can actually
say that 1 wanted to come to work." he said. "People
come here with tears in their eyes and some come in
laughing. Sometimes they come wuh tears, but leave
laughing."
But it's time to move on: now he has a lew stories
to share that he hopes will find their way into print.
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