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Ron's photos from WWII
Part of the book, Windsor's Child, tells the story of Ron's involvement in the war aboard the Dunlap. The book makes reference to the December 27, 1947 battle involving the Dunlap and to other incidents shown here. Apparently Ron did not take any of the pictures. Some were purchased from a variety of sources, and some were obtained from our source, a man who served with Ron on the ship and became his close friend.
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From 1943 to 1946, my older brother, Ronald Albert Parsons, served in the U.S. Navy. For part of that time, he was on board the U.S.S. Dunlap, a destroyer which patrolled the South Pacific during World War II. I told my brother's story in my book Windsor's Child, but I did not have an opportunity to include photographs that Ron brought home from the war.
On the first page of the photograph album he brought home Ron listed all the places the U. S. Navy took him from September, 1943 to his discharge in April, 1946. Here is his list which sometimes reflects Ron's Canadian education (spelling "Harbour" with a "u" for example):
Detroit, Michigan Farragut, Idaho Shoemaker, California Pearl Harbour Vallejo, California Guam Marcus Wake Phillipines Australia New Guinea Ceylon India Alaska Kiska Attu Sitka Ryokos Islands Taipan Saipan Iwo Jima Chi Chi Jima Ha Ha Jima Tokyo Yokohama Harbour San Juan Cristobal Panama Houston Florida Norfolk, Virginia Okinawa I have been to just three of the places Ron listed here: Detroit, Michigan, Houston, Texas and Farragut, Idaho, where the Farragut Naval Training Station was located. It is now called Farragut State Park, but remnants of the Training Station where Ron trained are still there.We are in contact with a man who served with Ron on board the Dunlap, and he has given us more information about the photos on this page. The picture at the top of the column to the left was labeled "Dunlap" in Ron's photo album. However, our source says the picture is actually of the U.S.S. Lamson which escorted the Dunlap to Chi Chi Jama. The Lamson was anchored in Chi Chi Jama Harbor. The picture, our source says, was taken from the Dunlap by the ship's photographer. 
This picture, obtained from the Internet, is of the Dunlap.
The group picture was taken, our source says, with his camera by an officer of the ship. He was the only man in the engineering department with a camera.
The picture of the B-29 crashing on Iwo Jima was purchased by Ron for about 5 or 10 cents. One of the reasons the United States worked so hard to capture Iwo Jima was so that crippled bombers like this one would not have to make the additional mileage to Saipan.
Our source says the picture of the beached Japanese ship was taken on December 27, 1944. This ship was attempting to get underway when it came under heavy fire from the Dunlap. Our source manned one of the guns that brought the ship down. The Japanese steered the crippled ship onto the beach of Iwo Jima.
Our source identified the name of the censor who read all letters sent by the men of the engineering department.
Our source took the picture of the Japanese ships painted on the Dunlap bridge. To get the picture, he went on board the Dunlap's sister ship, the U.S.S. Fanning and shot the picture from the ship's bridge. The man in the picture is one of the officers of the Dunlap.
Japanese officers boarded the U.S. Dunlap on September 3, 1945 off Chi Chi Jama to sign the unconditional surrender of the Bonnin Islands. I have placed a star over the cap of the man I believe is my brother, Ron.
This is all that is left of Camp Bennion today, an oval field where Ron and nearly 300,000 other men trained for World War II at the Farragut Naval Training Station in northern Idaho. Today it is part of Farragut State Park. To read about my recent visit to the place where Ron trained please click here.
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