From the Warfront to the Homeplace

The life of WWII glider infantryman Sid Park

Story by Hank Segars Photos contributed by Pat Park Turner. 

“I sincerely thank the Almighty God that I came back alive and pray today for those who did not return. It is hard to try and remember back 44 years, but I am thankful to be here to remember this much of my experiences.” -- Sid Park, Eatonton, Georgia, February 1988 

WWII Waco CG-4A Combat Gliders, like this one, were also known as "Flying Coffins".

At the intersection of North Lafayette and West Marion Streets in Eatonton, the Putnam County Veterans Wall of Honor bears the names of 1,500 veterans from Putnam County. First dedicated in 2014, the brick wall and attractive park are located on the site of the old Jordan Hospital, where many locals were born years ago in Eatonton.

Each name on the wall represents a unique story including veterans involved in perilous battle conflicts. As a prime example, Eatonton’s Richard Sidney “Sid” Park, Sr. (1915-2002) served as an Airborne technical sergeant, company cook, and glider infantryman who faced extreme warfare in WWII. Like other Lake Country veterans, his service is a testament to courage, resilience, and patriotism.

Sid with daughter, Pat Turner.

In the previous issue of Lakelife, I wrote about Toccoa’s Currahee Museum where I first encountered a large WWII photograph of Eatonton’s Sid Park in his Airborne uniform. I was astonished to learn that his daughter, Pat Park Turner, an Eatonton native, resided in Toccoa and volunteered at the museum. I soon realized that Pat and I attended Putnam County High School during the 1960s and held strong memories of Eatonton residents we had known during our childhoods—especially the WWII veterans. Best of all, she had recorded her dad’s wartime accounts and reminiscences and was happy to share them with Lakelife readers. 

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 “My father comes from a family of eight siblings, four boys and four girls with dad being the third child,” Pat explained. “He was born in 1915 in a house close to where his grandmother, Mary Will Park, lived on Park Road. He married the love of his life, Frances Vining, on July 31, 1941, and was drafted the next month.”

Frances and Sid Park

After basic training at Camp Croft near Spartanburg, S.C., Park’s unit traveled to Washington, D.C. for guard duty. He then shipped to England on June 6, 1944, for combat training and was assigned to the 101st and then the 82nd Airborne Division for cook, glider, and infantry duties. Gliders utilized in WWII were engineless aircraft carrying troops and heavy equipment to combat zones and towed by C-7 transport planes. Troops called these craft “flying coffins.” 

Sgt. Park recalled times his unit became pressed into action as ammunition bearers, infantry, and runners when communication was unsafe or unreliable. Park spoke of dangerous glider flights and landings, and difficult combat situations in Europe. “One time on the line our outpost was overrun and all our men were either killed or captured,” he described. “All hell broke loose about that time and I remember one guy going crazy. We were in a lot of fighting in Holland.”

During The Battle of the Bulge, Park’s regiment stopped a German offensive in the Ardennes and assisted in the liberation of Holland. He also encountered a concentration camp outside of Ludwigslust. “The Poles and other political prisoners wore striped chain gang prison clothes,” he said; “and one Pole showed me where the Germans had cut off half of his tongue.”

Park in Europe circa 1944.

“We paraded on the airfield at Ludwigslust to celebrate the end of the war,” the Eatonton glider infantryman recalled. “General Gavin and a Russian general were there. I was discharged at Fort Gordon, Georgia on 24 September 1945 having served my country four years, three months, and one day.”

Park’s uniform badges and medals include two Purple Hearts, Combat Infantry Badge, Glider Badge, Air Medal, American Campaign Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Bronze Star awarded for “heroic or meritorious service in combat.”    

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“My grandmother had all four of her boys off fighting in World War II,” Pat shared. “Dad was in the Army, Bill in the Marines, Jim in the Navy, and Francis in the Air Force. Dad was the only one who received a Purple Heart for being wounded twice. One time I asked Dad how his mother could stand that and he told me she prayed a lot.

“Halfway around the world, he met a soldier from Eatonton, Otis Thompson. An article in The Eatonton Messenger mentioned Lt. Col. William C. ‘Bull’ Martin Jr., James Reese, C. O. Bell, George O. ‘Red’ Love, and Garris Jones as some of the Putnam men involved with Operation Market Garden, a major Allied military operation in the Netherlands during 1944.   

 “After being in some of the fiercest battles, Operation Market Garden and Battle of the Bulge, Dad returned to Eatonton,” Pat continued. “It was a hard adjustment after seeing the horrors of war. He bought his first farm and a working dairy on Parks Road, named after his family. We lived on the farm for about 10 years before we moved to Madison Avenue in town.” 

A donation of land was made to Putnam's Habitat for Humanity by Sid Park (center).

Back home, Park started working as a Putnam County Deputy Sheriff before becoming a postal employee, recycler, and salesman. “He was always figuring out ways to make money,” Pat added. “Dad would recycle Coke bottles and aluminum cans, and purchase pecans from locals to resell. And if anyone needed money, they would locate Dad and he would buy whatever they wanted to sell. It was not unusual to see him traveling through Eatonton with a truck full of his treasures.” Ultimately, he became one of the county’s largest landowners and believed in philanthropy.

Sid and Frances Park had three children, Richard, Patsy (Pat) Turner, and Mary Culberson, seven grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. As a consummate family man, he closely cared for his wife in her declining years.

“Dad loved his hometown and always wanted growth for Putnam County. He thought Disney World should have been in Eatonton because of the Uncle Remus characters, and was proud that Horton Homes was started in his chicken house.” 

Sid Park served as Sunday School Superintendent at Wesley Chapel near Lake Oconee for many years. “He was forever grateful to God for bringing him home safely and he loved his God, his family, and his country,” Pat reveals. “Showing love for his community and fellow man, he would always lend a helping hand to those in need. He gave land to Habitat and provided housing for needy people.”

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 We are indebted to Sid Park and all other soldiers from our region and state who have defended America during wartime. Their lives and courageous service deserve remembrance.    

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This story appeared in Lakelife magazine, Volume 19, Issue 2, and is the property of Smith Communications, Inc. No portions of the story or photos may be copied or used without written consent from the publisher.