Michael Stacey Parks

Michael Stacey Parks passed away surrounded by loved ones in his home on December 27th, 2018. He was born on May 18, 1964 in St. Louis, Missouri to Larry Parks and Judy Parks Sutton. He grew up in Potosi, Missouri, where he was surrounded by family and friends. He resided in Potosi until the age of 22 when he made a life altering decision. He enlisted in the United States Air Force in August 1985. During his time in active duty, he studied to become a Vietnamese linguist in Monterrey, California in 1986. Michael graduated from the University of Hawaii with honors earning a bachelor’s degree in microbiology in 1997. He completed multiple tours in Vietnam with JTF-FA. His final duty station was in San Angelo at Goodfellow Air Force base where he was the superintendent of the 17th training squadron. He retired in October 2011 after 26 years of active duty service. While on tour in Hanoi, he met his wife Xuan. They married in June 2009 in a small ceremony in her hometown of Phu Tho. While in Vietnam, they spent their spare time visiting the beaches and countryside by motorbike. Some of their favorite memories were from Da Nang and Hue, Vietnam. He was the proud father of two daughters, Rian and Samantha. His strong work ethic and drive was a great influence on their lives. He consistently encouraged and supported them in all their efforts including Rian becoming a school teacher and Samantha’s recent accomplishment of graduating with her Bachelor’s in Psychology. He enjoyed reading, playing guitar and spending time with his loved ones. He also loved to travel to new places and learn about their culture and food. The greatest joy of his life was becoming a grandfather. He loved the quality time he spent with his grandson Aiden playing pretend and watching him grow. He is survived by his wife Xuan, his mother Judy and step-father Richard, his brother Keith and wife Jenny, his daughter Rian and husband Lito, daughter Samantha and husband Tyler and grandson Aiden, father-in-law Hoi and mother-in-law Thuy. He is preceded in death by his father Larry. During his Air Force time, Senior Master Sergeant Michael Parks was a career Vietnamese linguist serving tours of duty in Okinawa, Japan; Hawaii; the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; and the National Security Agency, Ft George G. Meade, Maryland. Among his numerous decorations are the Joint Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Aerial Achievement Medal with two bronze clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Air Force Achievement Medal, the Joint Meritorious Unit Commendation, and the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award. The highlight of his more than twenty-year Air Force career was his service as operations Non-Commissioned Officer at Detachment Two of Joint Task Force - Full Accounting in Hanoi, Socialist Republic of Vietnam. His responsibilities at Detachment Two included overall supervision of excavations and investigations throughout Vietnam seeking to locate the remains of American service personnel lost during the Vietnam War. His leadership and supervision of these operations resulted in the successful location and repatriation of more than one hundred and thirty sets of remains of fallen Americans, and their return to United States custody. Furthermore, he routinely directed the official repatriation ceremonies on the tarmac at Danang Air Base in Vietnam accepting the transfer cases containing the remains of our MIAs from officials of the government of Vietnam for an immediate flight to the Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii for positive identification. SMSgt Parks’ truly humanitarian efforts while assigned to the task force ultimately provided immeasurable comfort and closure to countless numbers of American parents and families of those missing-in-action in the Southeast Asia. A Memorial service will be held at Harper Funeral Home on Sunday, December 30, 2018 at 1:00 PM