The Columbia, S.C. law firm of Rogers Townsend & Thomas was presented the first-ever MAJ. GEN. JAMES E. LIVINGSTON AWARD, Thursday, for the firm’s sizeable financial and volunteer-manpower contributions to the 2010 National Medal of Honor Convention. And since the presentation – in which I introduced Lt. Gen. Garry L. Parks, who presented the award – we’ve had multiple requests for a transcript of my introductory remarks.
TRANSCRIPT FOLLOWS
Introduction of Lt. Gen. Garry L Parks (USMC, ret.)
By W. Thomas Smith Jr.
Apr. 2, 2009
When I first began working on this Medal of Honor convention project just over six months ago, I began to appreciate my various incidental connections to the effort beyond just my work and support.
I am after all a South Carolinian, a former Marine, and a journalist, who has chewed a bit of sand and mud with many of America’s bravest in peace and in war. In fact, I first met Medal of Honor recipient Mike Thornton 25 years ago when I was just a young Marine lance corporal going through a close-combat course up in Little Creek, Virginia, and Mike was this larger-than-life Medal of Honor recipient and Navy SEAL lieutenant who – when he walked into the room – was clearly the biggest, baddest man in the room. And believe-you-me, there were many big, bad men in that room.
But this today is not about my incidental connections to this effort.
This is about the relationship between one of South Carolina’s largest, most-respected law firms – Rogers Townsend & Thomas – and the convention effort. And as I introduce Lt. Gen. Garry L. Parks, who will make the presentation today, you will quickly see that his connections – incidental and otherwise – to this great effort run far deeper than that which most men will experience in two lifetimes.
Gen. Parks is a South Carolinian to be sure, and a graduate of the Citadel – the famous military college of South Carolina which all South Carolinians are proud of whether we attended the Citadel or not. It is after all, the institution which inspired Pat Conroy to pen the line, “No Southern man is complete without a tenure under military rule.” And as we know, the S.C. State Guard Foundation and the Citadel are the co-hosts of our forthcoming convention.
For more than three decades, Gen. Parks served as an officer of Marines. And throughout his distinguished career he has held every post from combat platoon commander and company XO with a Recon Battalion to rifle company commander, battalion commander, regimental commander. And when I say “combat,” ladies and gentlemen, I mean it in the way the late-Col. John Ripley meant it when he said, “Combat is a verb, not a noun. It is an action, not a place.”
Gen. Parks would ultimately hold various general-officer command positions, including:
Chief of Staff, Marine Forces Pacific
Commanding General, Marine Corps Recruiting Command
And finally, Deputy Commandant, Manpower and Reserve Affairs
Along the way, Gen. Parks earned several degrees – with Honors – and numerous decorations both for distinguished service and combat valor.
Trust me ladies and gentlemen, for the sake of time, I’m leaving a lot out about this truly great man; this three-star general officer of Marines.
Today, Gen. Parks is the President and CEO of the South Carolina Credit Union League & Affiliates. He is a member of our Medal of Honor convention advisory council. And he has graciously taken this morning from his busy schedule to make this important presentation. So please join me in welcoming Lt. Gen. Garry L. Parks.
END OF TRANSCRIPT
Lt. Gen. Parks then presented the award (a personally autographed piece by Col. Charles Waterhouse depicting then–Capt. Jim Livingston during the action at Dai Do, Vietnam, for which Livingston would receive the Medal of Honor) on behalf of Maj. Gen. Livingston, the S.C. State Guard Foundation, the Citadel, and the convention project executive committee.
Accepting the award for Rogers Townsend & Thomas was U.S. Army Reserve Capt. Michael Graham, an Iraq War veteran and RTT boardmember.
The Medal of Honor Society’s National Convention will be held in Charleston, Sept. 29—Oct. 3, 2010. Livingston, who resides in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., is one of 98 living recipients of the Medal of Honor.
— Lt. Col. W. Thomas Smith Jr. (JSD, SCMD) – a former U.S. Marine rifle-squad leader and counterterrorism instructor – is a journalist, author, and military analyst whose work has appeared in the New York Post, USA TODAY, U.S. News & World Report, BusinessWeek, CBS News, Human Events, and many others. Smith writes about military/defense issues and has covered conflict in the Balkans, on the West Bank, in Iraq and Lebanon. Visit him online at HYPERLINK "http://uswriter.com/" uswriter.com.
—uswriter.comHelp further an awareness of AMERICAN MILITARY TRADITION and honor AMERICA'S GREATEST HEROES by supporting the Medal of Honor Society's 2010 Convention to be held in Charleston, S.C. For more information visit medalofhonorconvention.comuswriter.com
