Cortlandt Parker

Cortlandt Parker (10 December 1884 – 18 January 1960) was a career officer in the United States Army. A graduate of the United States Military Academy, he served from 1906 until 1946 and attained the rank of major general. Parker was a veteran of World War I and World War II, and his awards and decorations included the Army Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, and Legion of Merit.

A native of Fort Apache, Arizona Territory and the son of a career army officer, Parker was raised at army bases throughout the United States and graduated from high school in Newark, New Jersey. He then attended the United States Military Academy (West Point), from which he graduated in 1906. Commissioned a second lieutenant of Cavalry, he later transferred to the Field Artillery, and he served with Artillery units in the United States and the Philippines, including service in Texas during the Mexican Border War. During World War I, he commanded Field Artillery regiments in France and the United States.

After the First World War, Parker graduated from the United States Army Command and General Staff College and the United States Army War College, and continued to command Field Artillery units. During World War II he commanded the 5th Infantry Division Artillery and the 5th Infantry Division during their organization and training, then went on to command the Western Defense Area and the California Sector of the Western Defense Command. He retired in 1960 and lived in Boston while maintaining a summer home in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. He died in Boston on 18 January 1960 and was buried at St. Mary's Episcopal Churchyard in Portsmouth.