Sgt. James Kenneth Park

Bridgeport ~ Sgt. James Kenneth Park, would have been 94 today, he was 20 when he went to be with our Lord during World War II in 1944.

Funeral is 10:00 a.m. Saturday, October 27, 2018, at First Baptist Church Bridgeport with burial in Dresden Cemetery near Corsicana.  Family will receive friends 5-7 p.m. Friday at Hawkins Funeral Home in Bridgeport.

Dr. Craig Erb and Rev. John Redfern will officiate. Pallbearers include members of the United States Army.

Sgt. Park was born on January 22, 1924 to James Walter and Eller (Threet) Park in Blooming Groves, Texas. He was united in marriage to Betty Lou Whitaker in October 1942.

Sgt. Park was serving in Company I, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division for the United States Army during World War II. He was one of thousands who gave their life in the battle. Sgt. James Kenneth Park, 20, a sole surviving son and father of an 18-month old baby girl, had his life cut short on November 23, 1944, from shrapnel from enemy fire, in the vicinity of Jüngersdorf, northern edge of the Hürtgen Forest, Germany. After 74 years, Sgt. Park has been reunited with his family and will be laid to rest in the Park family plot in the Dresden Cemetery in Dresden.

He was preceded in death by his baby brother, Johnny Park; his baby sister, Evelyn Park.

In 1944 he was survived by his parents; his wife, Betty Lou Park, whom has since passed away.

Those left behind to cherish his memory are his daughter, Kay Park Crawford of Bridgeport; his grandchildren, Regina Knutson and husband Brent, John Crawford Jr. and wife Kodeann and Jamie Paradise, and husband Jason; his great-grandchildren, Steven Laughlin, T.J. Phipps, Cameron Crawford, and Colton Paradise; his great great-grandchild, Andrew Phipps; numerous extended family, and a host of friends.