QUINCY – When I interviewed Howard Jefferson Parker Jr., 96, about his early years in Quincy and teaching at the former Penniman School in Braintree in the 1950s, I never thought I’d find someone to have him as a teacher.
Parker, who now lives in Mississippi, left Massachusetts in the late 1950s. In October, more than 77 years after he completed his World War II military service, he received the Action Ribbon of Navy struggle for courage and persistence in hostile enemy action in the Pacific theater.
Born in Quincy in 1926, he grew up in Wollaston, taught in Braintree for three years in the 1950s, then went to New York State, where he had a long career as a teacher and principal, retiring in 1982. When he I interviewed. Three weeks ago, for this column, I assumed he was now out of touch with any of his former Braintree students.
I was wrong.
Shortly after his award column appeared on November 15th, I received an email from Tom Welch. I have known Tom over the years as a member of the renowned Welch Nursing Home and Senior Living Center. He now serves as a justice of the peace and officiates weddings. He was ordained as a parish priest by the Archdiocese of Boston in 1968 and served in parishes in the Boston area for many years before requesting a continuous leave of absence after 23 years of pastoral ministry.
“Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciated your article on Quincy native Jefferson Parker,” Welch wrote. “He was my 5th grade teacher at Penniman School on Cleveland Avenue in Braintree. He was an excellent teacher and role model; every student was special to him. I have kept in touch with him for the past 30 years. When someone touches your heart, it never goes away.”
Parker called Welch to tell him to follow up on the Ledger article.
“I alerted another fellow fifth grader who was excited to read the article as well,” Welch said.
It was a wonderful surprise because readers often provide the most fruitful connections with each other.
Parker said Welch happened to find him on the Internet a few years ago out of the blue, and they’ve stayed in touch ever since.
“That’s how it is today. It’s unbelievable,” Parker said of modern communications. He appreciated being in touch with Welch, especially since his wife died last year at age 97.
A good age:At 96, Quincy native receives Navy Combat Action Ribbon for WWII service
A good age:94-year-old Weymouth woman keeps her Italian heritage alive for Thanksgiving
I also heard from John Ratomski, of Westbury, New York.
“I am the son of a deceased World War II Seabee veteran,” Ratomski wrote. “After 13 months in the Solomon Islands, my father shipped to Ulithi Asor in the Western Caroline Islands.
“My father’s outfit unloaded Mr. Parker’s SS South African Victory at Ulithi on November 1, 1944. They were also present when the tanker USS Mississenewa was hit by a Japanese Kaiten suicide mini-sub.
“Mr Parker also witnessed this horrific event. I have attached some rare photographs of these events which we hoped you could somehow forward to Mr. Parker to see.”
I forwarded the images, which Ratomski received from the US Navy Seabee Museum in Port Hueneme, California, and were in the archives of his father’s battalion. One showed Parker’s SS South African Victory being serviced; another was a funeral for servicemen killed in the submarine attack.
Parker was excited to see the photos.
“I’ve seen them and it’s incredible,” he said. “I hadn’t seen anything since we were there. There was a whole flotilla of ships and we were attacked all the time because they were Japanese islands.”
Both families feel fulfilled by their bond.
“I was more than happy to reach out to the family and pass on the photos,” Ratomski said. “These men did so much to save the world, The Greatest Generation. We will never see them again.”
Contact Sue Scheible at [email protected]
Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here is our latest offer.