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During the closing days of 1944, editors at the London edition of Stars and Stripes decided to select a frontline GI as “Our Man of the Year.”
Staff members sorted through hundreds of photographs before finding the right face. They finally came across one that conveyed all the misery of the frontline soldier and all the courage, too. The soldier’s glassy eyes had an absent, faraway look. His stubbled chin, unwashed face, and mud-spattered uniform added to the appearance of a man who had endured a gnawing diet of terror and death.
So the photo of Sgt. John H. Parks was the focus of the front page of the Jan 1, 1945, issue of Stars and Stripes, London edition...
...but his tanker helmet was replaced with an infantry helmet by photo lab artists.
Why?
The editors felt the tank helmet would suggest only the armored force, and the steel helmet would better represent all American soldiers. So on New Year’s Day 1945, the picture appeared on the newspaper’s front page.
But, who was John H. Parks?
Parks was born on March 10, 1919. Enlisted at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana on 31 Jan 1942. As sergeant John H. Parks was a tank comander of the 2nd Platoon, B Company, 37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Div. Was listed as missing in action at Bigonville, Luxembourg on 23 Dec 1944, just 13 days after the photo was taken. Sgt Parks was just 25 years of age. His remains were never recovered.
Staff members sorted through hundreds of photographs before finding the right face. They finally came across one that conveyed all the misery of the frontline soldier and all the courage, too. The soldier’s glassy eyes had an absent, faraway look. His stubbled chin, unwashed face, and mud-spattered uniform added to the appearance of a man who had endured a gnawing diet of terror and death.
So the photo of Sgt. John H. Parks was the focus of the front page of the Jan 1, 1945, issue of Stars and Stripes, London edition...
...but his tanker helmet was replaced with an infantry helmet by photo lab artists.
Why?
The editors felt the tank helmet would suggest only the armored force, and the steel helmet would better represent all American soldiers. So on New Year’s Day 1945, the picture appeared on the newspaper’s front page.
But, who was John H. Parks?
Parks was born on March 10, 1919. Enlisted at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana on 31 Jan 1942. As sergeant John H. Parks was a tank comander of the 2nd Platoon, B Company, 37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Div. Was listed as missing in action at Bigonville, Luxembourg on 23 Dec 1944, just 13 days after the photo was taken. Sgt Parks was just 25 years of age. His remains were never recovered.
