What freedom means to me... Hugo & Doris Parkman

Joe Westbury

For nearly 28 years Hugo and Doris Parkman served Southern Baptists as missionaries in the Philippines. But prior to that, Hugo Parkman served his nation on board a submarine patrolling the East China Sea during World War II.

On one patrol his submarine surfaced to pull American pilots from choppy seas after they were shot down by Japanese aircraft. Due to a lack of beds on board he offered to share his bunk with one of the pilots, whom he befriended during the 30 days they were at sea together. The nineteen-year-old pilot, shaken by the death of the two other aviators on his plane, was often comforted by the words offered by Parkman, who was then 23 years old. That pilot, George Herbert Walker Bush, has never forgotten the communication officer’s kindnesses and has maintained the friendship through the years.

“He was a fine, clean-cut young man who was very much in love with Barbara,” Parkman recalls.

“To me, being free means we are not controlled by any dictator or oppressive ideology. We are all free spirits, our own bosses, answerable only to the law of the land (which we make ourselves) and to God. One of the most important tenets is that we are free to worship in any way we deem appropriate.

“Freedom is easy to take for granted, is easy to lose, but is hard to regain. I’m proud to be an American and am grateful to have had the opportunity to defend her when I was needed.”

Hugo & Doris Parkman, First Baptist Church, Decatur