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Name: Edwin Charles "Ted" Parsons
Médaille Militaire
Order of Leopold II [Belgium]
Croix de Guerre with 8 Palms		 Edwin Parsons Croix de Guerre [Belgium]
Country: United States
Rank: Lieutenant
Service: French Air Service
Units: N124; Spa3
Victories: 8
Born: 24 September 1892
Place of Birth: Holyoke, Massachusetts
Died: 02 May 1968
Place of Death: Sarasota, Florida
Cemetery: Arlington National Cemetery
Section 30, Lot 1698 LH
 
An experienced pilot when the war began, Edwin Charles Parsons went to France at the end of 1915. He served with the United States Ambulance service before enlisting in the French Foreign Legion. In 1916, he became a pilot in the French Air Service and was assigned to N124 in January 1917. When the war ended, Parsons returned to the United States and joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was employed as an aviation advisor for several Hollywood movies. As a naval officer during World War II, he was an instructor at Pensacola Naval Air Station and took part in the Solomon Islands campaign, ending the war as a Rear Admiral.
 
Médaille Militaire
American citizen, elite pilot, executed the most unpleasant missions with daring and good temperament. He downed, on 26 August 1918, his sixth enemy plane.
Médaille Militaire citation
 
Victories
Date Time Unit Aircraft Opponent Location
1 04 Sep 1917 0940 N124   Rumpler C Neuilly
2 06 May 1918 1715 Spa3   Two-seater W of Montdidier
3 16 May 1918 0945 Spa3   Two-seater Montdidier
4 19 May 1918 1220 Spa3   Two-seater 1 Montdidier
5 20 May 1918 0915 Spa3   Two-seater Gratibus
6 26 Aug 1918 Spa3   Fokker D.VII Morchain
7 26 Sep 1918 1800 Spa3   Two-seater 2 S of Tahure
8 01 Oct 1918 1510 Spa3   Two-seater N of Somme-Py
1 Shared with MdL Denneulin, Sgt Chevannes
2 Shared with MdL Denneulin, S/Lt Pierre Pendaries
 
Books
Franks, Norman. American Aces of World War 1. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2001
Franks, Norman and Frank Bailey. Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914-1918. London: Grub Street, 1992
Dale L. Walker. Only the Clouds Remain: Ted Parsons of the Lafayette Escadrille. Alandale Press, 1980
Edwin C. Parsons. I Flew With the Lafayette Escadrille. Ayer Co. Pub., 1972
 
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