Published: November 08, 2009 11:58 am      

Walking for Old Glory

Event at Central Park draws a crowd

Ashland — Saturday’s Walk for Old Glory at Central Park was an emotional experience for Timi May.

And, why wouldn’t it be? After all, it was an old newspaper clipping showing a photograph of her late brother that inspired the event.

Larry Crum, commander of American Legion Post 76, which sponsored the event, said he was going through some of the post’s files when he came across the photo, taken by former Independent photographer Jim Martin. It showed May’s brother, Walker “Buzz” Parke Jr. leading a 5K run the Legion used to sponsor called the Run for Old Glory.

Buzz Parke, a 1975 graduate of Paul G. Blazer High School, was carrying an American flag. He did so, Crum said, in honor of his father, Walker Parke Sr., who was killed in a 1964 helicopter crash at Ft. Bragg, N.C., while awaiting deployment to Vietnam.

Buzz Parke would later move to Alaska. He was killed in 1994, at the age of 36, when an earthquake hit while he was ice-climbing in Denali National Park, Crum said.

Inspired by the photo of the young man, Crum said he considered reviving the 5K run as a means of showing respect to the flag and appreciation to all the veterans who have served over the years. Ultimately, though, he said he decided a walk would be more appropriate.

Crum said it took awhile for him and other members of the legion to figure out that the runner in the photograph was Buzz Parke. Finally, he said, former Post 76 Commander Jim Rodman recognized the young man as his cousin’s son.

Crum said he was aware that May’s husband, Bert, was once mayor of Mt. Sterling, and he was able to contact her through him.

“It just goes to show how one life can touch so many people,” he said.

May, who lives in Mt. Sterling and works as a docent at the University of Kentucky Art Museum in Lexington, said she was deeply touched by the Legion’s decision to hold the event in her brother’s honor.

She also said she felt the walk was a great way to honor the memory of her father, and of all soldiers who have paid the ultimate price for freedom.

About 75 showed up for Saturday’s event and walked several laps around the park on a crisp, gorgeous autumn afternoon.

Crum said the Legion received a very nice, and very touching, surprise in the mail just prior to the event.

A box arrived at the post, and in it, he said, was a folded American flag, along with a note stating that it had been flown over Afghanistan by an American soldier there.

The soldier, U.S. Army Maj. Paul D. Blevins, had seen a story about the Walk for Old Glory while reading the online edition of The Independent and wanted to do something to thank the post for its efforts, Crum said.

“It touched us,” he said. “It brought tears to all our eyes.”

KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.