Born 10 Mar 1919 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Sgt John H. Parks attended Union Township High School in Indiana and was employed at the Kingsbury Ordnance Plant.

He enlisted at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana on 31 January 1942. He served in 2nd Platoon, B Company, 37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division.

He was killed instantly as he stood in his turret. Only two members of Parks' crew survived. One of the casualties, Pvt Edward H. Clark, is also remembered at the Tablets of the Missing at Luxembourg Cemetery.

After the battle, his company commander, Capt Jimmie Leach, searched for Sgt Parks destroyed tank. A formal report later described the investigation: “Captain James H. Leach, commanding officer of Company B, inspected inside of the tank by flashlight but could see no bodies, but the tank was completely burned. Nothing but ashes remained inside the hull.”

"Fighting Man. Wearied after days of front line combat, his helmet mud caked, his face bearded and grimy, his eyes glazed from what he has seen, Sgt John H Parks, Mill creek Indiana, arrives at a rest area behind the lines after his outfit is relived. December 10, 1944"

Sgt John H Parks was killed when his tank was destroyed during a German counterattack at Flatzbourhof on the 23 December 1944. Johns tank had burn out during the battle and was left were it was hit. After the war the Army looked to recover the remains of John and Ed Clark the other crewman killed in the tank. An army investigator returned to the site in 1947 but found that there was no trace of Parks tank. Salvager's had been and removed it from the battlefield. Since the bodies could not be recovered, the American Battle Monuments Commission had the names of Parks and Clark placed on the tablets of the missing at the Luxembourg American Cemetery.
Source: Find a Grave & Fields of Honor