Wheels Up

The Dutch Parker Story

It was a chilly Spring day, 1942. The sun playfully darted in and out of the large cumulus clouds, high above the small bustling plaza, in downtown Santa Fe. Walter J. Parker stood motionless in front of the large storefront window, oblivious to the shoppers moving all around him on the narrow sidewalk. He was totally immersed in the large, brightly colored poster, hanging in the window of the makeshift recruiting office that now resided on San Francisco Street, next to the emporium. Little did he know then, that just one year later, he and his best friend Donny, would be standing on the blistering tarmac of an Army airfield, ready to serve their country. His life was about to change. A world at war would see to that. Every emotion that a young man could possibly endure, would meet him face to face. And then something happened he never expected. He encountered the striking, twenty-year-old Brit, Peggy Miles. His life would change yet again. The charming daughter of the owner of the Black Bull Pub, would have a lasting effect on his future.