John Joseph Parle

Who was John Joseph Parle?

John Joseph Parle was a United States Naval Reserve officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II. Parle was a 1942 ROTC graduate of Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

On July 9, 1943, Parle was serving as an ensign and was involved in the preparations for the Allied invasion of Sicily. On that day, he noticed a fire aboard a small boat loaded with explosives and ammunition. Knowing that an explosion would alert the defenders on Sicily of the impending invasion, he rushed to put out the fire. Although successful in dousing the flames, he later died of smoke inhalation.

Parle, aged 23 at his death, was buried at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in his birth city of Omaha, Nebraska.