William Leroy Parker graduated from Auburn University in 1938. He was in ROTC and commissioned as a 2nd Lt. in the Field Artillery. He spent over two years at Spanhoe, England as Supply and Personnel Officer with the 315 Troop Carrier Group. They dropped 800 American Paratroopers, as well as British troops in gliders, on D-Day at St. Mere-Eglise. He was awarded the Bronze Star, and was a major at the end of World War II. He went back in during the Korean War and was stationed at Kelly Air Force Base. He passed up his promotion to Brigadier General so he could come home and raise his family.
His name appears on the roster for Z-Division at Sandia National Laboratory under Z-2a as an alternate. Z-2a was part of the Assembly Factory (then Procurement, Storage, and Shipment).
Information submitted by his son, Lee Parker.