John Parsels was born on June 28, 1945, in Tecumseh, Michigan. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on December 27, 1965, and completed basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia, in February 1966. He next attended Advanced Individual Training as an Infantryman at Fort Benning, followed by Infantry Officer Candidate School, receiving his commission as a 2d Lt of Infantry at Fort Benning on March 13, 1967. His first assignment was as an Instructor and Assistant Commandant of the Counter Guerrilla Warfare School with Headquarters 7th Infantry Division in South Korea from April 1967 to February 1968, and then as a Platoon Leader with Headquarters 2nd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment of the 7th Infantry Division in South Korea from February to March 1968. Lt Parsels served as Executive Officer of Company A, 2nd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment of the 7th Infantry Division in South Korea from March to June 1968. He attended Rotary-Wing Flight Training at Fort Wolters, Texas, from June to October 1968, and then completed his Flight Training at Fort Rucker, Alabama, in February 1969. Capt Parsels next attended the Aircraft Maintenance Officers Course at Fort Eustis, Virginia, from March to July 1969, followed by service as a UH-1 Iroquois pilot with the 5th Transportation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile) in South Vietnam from August 1969 to January 1970. Capt Parsels served as a Maintenance Officer with Headquarters Company, 2nd Infantry Brigade, Aviation Platoon from January 1970 until his helicopter crashed in South Vietnam and he was taken as a Prisoner of War on February 5, 1970. After spending 1,147 days in captivity, he was released during Operation Homecoming on March 27, 1973. Maj Parsels was briefly hospitalized to recover from his injuries at Fort Gordon, Georgia, and he then attended Army Aviation Refresher training at Fort Rucker, Alabama, from August to September 1973. He attended the Infantry Officer Advanced Course at Fort Benning from October 1973 to March 1974, and then the Fixed-Wing Qualification Course at Fort Rucker from May to August 1974. Maj Parsels next attended the U-21 Ute Aircraft Qualification Course at Fort Rucker from August to September 1974, followed by service as an Airfield Operations Officer and Chief of the Flight Operations Branch with Headquarters Company, U.S. Army Garrison Fort McPherson, Georgia, from September 1974 to December 1977. During this time his duty station was at the Fulton County Airport in Atlanta, Georgia. His next assignment was as Chief of the Flight Operations Branch, as a Transportation Staff Officer, and then as Chief of the Administrative Tranpsportation Management Branch with Headquarters U.S. Army Forces Command at Fort McPherson from December 1977 to March 1979. Maj Parsels was then a patient at Fort Gorgon, Georgia, from March 1979 until he was medically retired from the Army on July 14, 1979. John Parsels Flew West on May 11, 2017, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.