United States Army Officer. Brigadier General Parrish received recognition for being the Caucasian commanding officer of the first African-American pilot squadron called the "Tuskegee Airmen." Born in the segregated South, the son of a minister, he directed the military's first systematic effort to train Black pilots for combat duty during World War II. He was instrumental in planning the integration of the armed forces in later years. After graduating from Cullman High School in Alabama in 1924, he received his bachelor of arts degree from Rice Institute in Texas in 1928 and finished one year toward a master's degree. After adventuring West during the Great Depression, he remained jobless, thus enlisted in the United States Army in July of 1930, serving in the Eleventh Cavalry at Monterey, California. In June of 1931 while riding horses in the cavalry, he was appointed a flying cadet and one year later, he was assigned to the 13th Attack Squadron at Fort Crockett, Texas. With one year of active duty, he enlisted in the Air Corps Technical School at Chanute Field, Illinois in September of 1933, and later joined the First Air Transport Squadron at Dayton, Ohio. In July 1935 be resumed his position as assistant operations officer of the 13th Attack Squadron at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. Beginning his fly instructor career, in April of 1938 he became a flying instructor at Randolph Field, Texas and in July of 1939 was appointed a supervisor at the Air Corps Flying School at Glenview, Illinois at the rank of second lieutenant. Returning to Alabama, he entered the Air Command and Staff School at Maxwell Field in August of 1940, graduating June of 1941 and remaining there as a member of the staff. In March of 1941, he was named assistant director of training of the Eastern Flying Training Command. Although Black Americans were not permitted to fly for the United States armed services prior to 1940, there were civilian Black pilots. Formation of the Black air units was announced by Secretary of War on January 16, 1941. In December of 1941, he became Director of Training at Tuskegee Army Flying School assuming command of Tuskegee Army Air Field the same year. He was the third officer to attempt this position in a short time. With the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor being attacked the same month, the United States entered World War II. He had almost 1,000 graduating pilots, yet only about 450 actually seeing active combat during the war. With the 99th Fighter Pursuit Squadron being first in June of 1943, the 99th Fighter Pursuit Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group were the only Black air units that saw active combat during the war, yet both squadrons were highly decorated and the 199th Fighters set a record for destroying five enemy aircraft in less than four minutes. The remaining squadrons, which was about half of the pilots, stayed at Tuskegee Army Field. A few of these pilots were assigned as replacements for the squadrons that saw action. The "Tuskegee Airmen" earned 95 Distinguished Flying Crosses. Not only did the school train pilots, but there were approximately 14,000 ground support personnel at Tuskegee Field. He demanded high standards of performance of his men and did not view race as an issue in teaching them to fly. Having to maintain segregation, he had little local civilian support. He stayed at Tuskegee until August 20, 1946, when he was assigned to the Air College at Maxwell Field. He graduated June of 1947, and became deputy secretary of the Air Staff at Air Force Headquarters in Washington, D.C. On September 18, 1947, the United States Air Force was established as a separate branch of the U.S. Armed Forces breaking away from the United States Army. He was appointed a special assistant to the vice chief of staff at that department in January of 1951. In September of 1954, he was deployed to France and designated Air Deputy to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Defense College. On September 1, 1956, he assumed the duties of deputy director, Military Assistance Division, U.S. European Command, being stationed at Paris, France. In May of 1958 he returned to Air Force headquarters in Washington D.C to become assistant for coordination to Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans and Programs. Among his decorations, he received the Legion of Merit and the Air Medal. He retired from the Air Force on October 1, 1964. In retirement he earned his PhD from Rice University and then taught college-level history. He wrote magazine articles using a penname. His professional papers have been archived at the Library of Congress. He married twice and had step children. He died of a cardiac arrest in a Veterans Hospital. At his funeral, the commander of the 332nd Fighter Group of the "Tuskegee Airmen," Lieutenant General Benjamin O. Davis Jr. said, "He may have been the only white person who believed that blacks could learn to fly airplanes."