Biography

Parker, Charles Augustus. b. February 16 (17), 1916, Brooklyn, New York; African American; Father Charles Parker, mother Anna Parker, Elementary School education; No prior military service; Single (Separated); Circus Gangler, Actor, and Male Nurse; American Federation of Actors, AFL, CP June 1938; Received Passport# 577021 on August 16, 1938 which listed his address as 292 Lexington Avenue, NYC, and 1610 Dear Street, Brooklyn, New York; Arrived in Spain via Massanet on August 31, 1938; Served with the XV BDE, Lincoln-Washington BN; Rank Soldado; Served at the Ebro Offensive, WIA; Worked at the hospital in Reus; Returned to the US on December 20, 1938 aboard the Ausonia; WWII served in the Merchant Marines as a messman, was aboard the SS Lancaster when it ran aground off Casablanca, Morrocco on December 30, 1942; Continued to work as a mess officer aboard the SS Washington post war.

Siblings: brother John Lane, sisters Henrietta, Adelle and Alice.

Sources: Scope of Soviet Activity; Figueres List; Pay; RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 960, ll. 7-10; African Americans. Code A

Biography: Charles Augustus Parker was born in New York on February 16, 1916. An actor by trade he worked in circuses as a gangler. Parker also had practical experience in the field of medicine, after working for two years in a children's shelter in New York. In 1938, he joined the Communist party. Parker arrived in Spain on August 27, 1938. After a brief period of training, Parker was assigned to the Lincoln-Washington Battalion. Parker was repatriated along with the rest of the Internationals and returned home aboard the Paris arriving in New York on December 15, 1938. ~ Chris Brooks

Photograph: Charles Parker in Spain, RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 960, ll. 7; and returning aboard the Paris, December 1938. VALB Photograph (detail from a group photograph).