A Wilmington veteran has found a way to connect with people at his senior living facility.
Lyle Parker, a humble and soft-spoken retired physician and Vietnam veteran, is sharing his experiences of the conflict through a journal of his photos taken during the Vietnam War.
The 84-year-old has lived at Brookdale Wilmington (Memory Care) since December 2023. Parker's second wife, Trish, comes to visit him often. He has two children and a dog, his "fur baby" named Quinn.
He is typically introduced as Captain and Dr. Lyle Parker. However, fussing to the reference, he prefers to just be called Dr. Parker.
Although diagnosed with dementia a couple of years ago, Dr. Parker doesn't let that deter him.
"Memorizing places I visited used to be my strong point," Dr. Parker said.
That's where the journal has been a benefit. Sharing his stories through photography, Dr. Parker shows his collection of more than 300 photos carefully arranged in three adhesive photo albums. The photos were taken during Dr. Parker's time in Vietnam between 1967-1968 and remain relatively well preserved.
Dr. Parker served as a flight surgeon and was part of the Tet Offensive, a surprise attack against South Vietnam and U.S. troops.
"A very foreign and strange place," said Dr. Parker about the reason he wanted to keep and capture the memories of his time spent in Vietnam. "It wasn't really a scenic country."
"On 7 Dec. 1967 arrived in Dau Tieng after a 3-day trek west from Saigon," written in Dr. Parker's daily photo journal.
Dr. Parker was recognized during his time in Vietnam through "Look" magazine, which provided coverage of U.S. and international lifestyles, celebrities, and events. It selected him as part of the Army Recruiting Activity. He was a physician stepping out of bounds, having multiple roles, one being a gunnery on the Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter, nicknamed "Huey."
Not all of his photography made it to his albums. Some of the film he sent to Kodak couldn't be processed because he said Kodak decided the photos were considered to show too many military secrets.
Amid war, Dr. Parker did get relief from his family. He arrived in Vietnam just before Thanksgiving and, less than a month later, he got a call from his wife, Sandra, telling him that she just landed in Vietnam. She stayed for about a month. When Dr. Parker was assigned, Sandra had to make a choice between Bangkok, Hong Kong or going back home to California.
Sandra chose Bangkok and Dr. Parker and her saw each other on the weekends.
He also wanted to help others in the country. A 28-year-old native of Vietnam, Miss Anh Dam (pronounced Dom), wanted to leave Vietnam. Dam's mother also wanted her to leave. With Dr. Parker's help, he sent her to San Bernardino, California, to his parents' house. There she took nursing training at San Bernardino Valley College.
"Hopefully soon, his photographs will be scanned and converted to digital," said Kayla Jakubczak, sales manager at Brookdale Wilmington.
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