CityView Magazine

CityViewNC.com | 5 EDITOR'S CORNER Remembering the sacrifice BY BOBBY PARKER Bobby Parker is editor of CityView. Contact him at bparker@cityviewnc.com. Bobby U ncle Bill didn't have the gi of what you might call social grace. With a booming voice and an eruptive laugh, he generally got on my mother's nerves. He was my father's brother and her in-law, so in a way, I guess, she was comfortable distancing herself from him. My siblings and I more or less felt the same way, but he did seem to me to be a big kid with a big heart. Well-intentioned, if not always appropriate in front of company. He lived in a big two-story house in Chesapeake, Virginia, in a somewhat commercial area. If I had to guess, the property is probably today home to a thriving (is there any other kind?) Chick-fil-A. My grandmother lived with him in her later years, and I always thought that it was compassionate of him to take her in and take care of her when that would have been difficult for his siblings. ey all had kids, and he didn't. He was married briefly, but that didn't work out. Not that anyone ever talked about it. He became involved in what apparently was a very fundamentalist church. at was no problem in my Southern Baptist family, though he always seemed to be witnessing in an awkward kind of way. George William Parker — Oct. 23, 1927- May 27, 1990 — was a good man and a loyal brother to my father. He worked for decades on the assembly line of a Ford factory in Virginia. He was also a veteran of the U.S. Army, and that's why I think of him this September as the Field of Honor at Fayetteville's Airborne & Special Operations Museum celebrates its 45th year. It's a poignant tribute to those who served their country, one that Fayetteville families have taken to heart, as our Jami McLaughlin writes in a story on Page 26 of this issue. "For me, it was a way to show him his service to our country still meant something," Katie Mehan told McLaughlin about sponsoring a flag in honor of her Papaw, Master Sgt. Milton "Tom" Gibson. at Mehan and others make the effort to champion their loved ones in the Field of Honor speaks volumes about family. Last year, I sponsored a flag as a tribute to my father, Berry Ward Parker, a Marine Corps veteran and Purple Heart recipient for his service in Okinawa in World War II. I was honored to do so. He was a hero not only as a dad and a veteran but also as a 35- year veteran of the N.C. Highway Patrol. Next year, I will sponsor flags in honor of my father and my Uncle Bill. Bill Parker is buried in the family graveyard in a farm field at Summerlin's Crossroads — a speck on the map in Duplin County that if you find yourself in, you're probably headed somewhere else. Like so many others, he did his duty and served his country, and that should never be forgotten. e ASOM's Field of Honor gives us all the opportunity to remember that sacrifice. Also in this issue Lisa Carter Waring is the champion of her hometown, Hope Mills. On Page 32, read her take on why the town's lake is so treasured by her community. ey have 12 children, including eight adoptees with a range of ethnic lineage. Bryan and Julia McKenzie kids are best friends at home and on the playing field as athletes at Cape Fear High School. High school sports icon Earl Vaughan Jr. tells their story on Page 18. George William Parker served in the Army and worked on the assembly line at a Virginia Ford plant for decades. Uncle Bill was a veteran of the U.S. Army, and that's why I think of him this September as the Field of Honor at Fayetteville's Airborne & Special Operations Museum celebrates its 45th year.

• Cover