The President today announced his intention to nominate Major General Harold R. Parfitt, of Coaldale, Pennsylvania to be Governor of the Canal Zone. He will succeed Major General David S. Parker who is retiring.

Major General Parfitt is presently Commanding General, United States Army Engineer Center/Commandant, United States Army Engineer School. From December 1969 to August 1973, he was Division Engineer, United States Army Engineer Division, Southwest, Dallas, Texas.

He was Commanding Officer, 20th Engineer Brigade in Vietnam from November 1968 to November 1969. In June 1965 he became Lieutenant Governor of the Canal Zone and Vice President of the Panama Canal Company in Balboa Heights, Canal Zone, serving until September 1968.

He was Deputy and later District Engineer of the Engineer Division, South Atlantic, in Jacksonville, Florida from August 1962 to May 1965.

Major General Parfitt was born on August 6, 1921, in Coaldale, Penns ylvania. He received his B.S. degree from the United States Military Academy in 1943 and his M. S. degree from the Mas sachusetts Institute of Technology in 1948. He attended the United States Army Command and General Staff College and the Canadian National Defense College.

Major General Parfitt is the recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal, the Purple Heart and the Legion of Merit, with Oak Leaf Cluster.

Major General Parfitt is married to the former Patricia Scully and they have two children.

Harold Parfitt (Panama Canal)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Major General Harold Robert Parfitt (U.S. Army (Ret.)) (August 6, 1921—May 21, 2006), was Governor of the Panama Canal Zone from 1975 to 1979.

MG Parfitt was born in Coaldale, Pennsylvania[disambiguation needed], on August 6, 1921, the son of William Parfitt and Elizabeth (Patterson) Parfitt. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1943; graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1948; graduated from the Command and General Staff College in 1955; Canadian National Defense College in 1962; and from an advanced management program at Harvard in 1967. He married Patricia Rose Scully on June 4, 1955.

Parfitt was commissioned second lieutenant of the United States Army in 1943; advanced through the ranks to major general in 1971. He served as commanding general, United States Army Engineer Center/Commandant, United States Engineer School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, from late 1973 to March 1975.

He was Deputy, and later District Engineer of the Engineer Division, South Atlantic, in Jacksonville, Florida, from August 1962 to May 1965. In June 1965, he became lieutenant governor of the Canal Zone and vice president of the Panama Canal Company, serving until September 1968.

From December 1969 to August 1973, he was division engineer, U.S. Army Engineer Division, Southwest, Dallas, Texas. Parfitt was commanding officer of the 20th Engineer Brigade in Vietnam from November 1968 to November 1969.

Parfitt was appointed as Governor of the Panama Canal Zone on April 1, 1975, and served in that position until September 30, 1979. He was the last U.S. governor of this region, as the post was abolished and replaced with the Panama Canal Commission.

Parfett died on May 21, 2006.

He is the father of Karen Hughes, who was a close advisor to president George W. Bush.

Harold Robert Parfitt was born on 6 Aug 1921 in Coaldale, PA, to Elizabeth and William Parfitt, who raised Hal and his brother Bill to respect the values of hard work, responsibility, education, and to love God and country.

Hal was smart and athletic. His excellence in track and basketball ultimately led to an athletic scholarship to Kutztown State Teacher College. Within a year at Kutztown, he was offered an appointment to West Point, which he eagerly accepted. He attended Sullivan Prep School in Washington, DC, and entered the Academy on 1 Jul 1940 with the Class of 1944, which graduated a year early as the Class of June 1943. His academic and other talents continued to prevail. He became a cadet captain and was commissioned in the Army Corps of Engineers upon graduation.

Hal soon was in England and led an Engineer Platoon of the 147th Engineer Combat Battalion onto Omaha Beach. He was wounded and sent to England for surgery and rehab, prior to joining the 149th ECB for the remainder of World War II in Europe.

On 27 Nov 1945, Hal returned to West Point for a two-year stint and then attended MIT to earn a master's degree in engineering.

In 1948, Hal went from MIT to Headquarters, Eighth Army, Japan, where he volunteered to serve in Korea. He joined the 2nd Engineer Combat Group and then com­manded the heavily engaged 8th Engineer Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. Hal was among the first of his peers to be promoted to lieutenant colonel.

In March 1952, he was assigned to the Engineer School at Ft. Belvoir, where he met Patricia Rose Scully. Hal invited Pat to a golf exhibition a month hence. After she accepted, he asked her to dinner, this time only two weeks hence. In the midst of this courtship, Hal was selected to attend Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, KS. Two weeks before the course ended, Hal was back at Ft. Belvoir to marry Pat. Then, he hastily returned to Ft. Leavenworth to finish school, take a honeymoon, and report to their next duty at Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers Europe in Paris. Hal and Pat spent three years in Paris and welcomed daughter Karen into the family.

Next, the Parfitts moved to the Engineer Supply Center, St. Louis, MO, and present­ed Karen with a sister, Beverly. In 1961, Hal was selected to attend the Canadian National Defense College, after which began 17 years of increasingly demanding Engineer branch command duties, including Viet Nam, com­manding general of the Engineer Center, Ft. Belvoir, VA, and, finally, Governor of the Panama Canal Zone and President of the Panama Canal Company. The only break in these key Engineer command assignments came with his 13-week attendance at the Harvard Executive Management Course.

In 1968, Hal's promotion to brigadier gen­eral assured his assignment to Viet Nam and to his third war. As commanding general of the 20th Engineer brigade, his three groups in­cluded some 14 battalions and several separate companies. Their mission was to support the combat divisions and to construct and main­tain the lines of communication in the south­ern half of Viet Nam. His exemplary perfor­mance was rewarded with the Distinguished Service Medal and five Air Medals.

Hal's final duty as Governor of the Panama Canal Zone deserves special note because during his tenure, President Carter proposed and Congress approved the transfer of the Panama Canal and the Canal Zone to the Government of Panama. The hallmark of Hal's governorship was his concern for the men and women who worked for him during this period of great change, worry, and transition to the future. For their retirement affair, Hal and Pat decided on an event everyone could attend. Hundreds, including children and spouses, filled a large airport hangar and enjoyed a unique and joyful tribute. His two daughters surprised their dad by attending, and Beverly sang Hal's favorite song, "The Impossible Dream," prompting more than a few tears.

With Pat by his side, Hal's employees presented a lifesize bronze bust as permanent evidence of their respect. During almost 100 years and numerous governors, there are only two such recognitions: the first governor, George Goethals, and the last governor, Harold Parfitt. Serving as Governor of the Canal Zone was arguably the most difficult and demanding position in the Corps of Engineers, especially during the treaty negotiations that took place during Parfitt's governorship.

After 36 years of commissioned service, MG Harold R. Parfitt retired on 1 Oct 1979, the day the new treaty took effect and the po­sition of governor ended.

More than two-thirds of his service was in responsible command positions, from lieuten­ant to major general. He fought in three wars and was decorated for valor and performance. He set a standard of excellence rarely met by others but natural for him. After retirement, he enjoyed life in Dallas, TX, visiting family, helping care for his grandson Robert, and par­ticipating in church and Sunday school activi­ties. He and Pat moved to a retirement com­munity, Edgemere, where Pat resides.

There is so much more to this man than a series of challenging duties. A humble and reserved person, Hal's leadership strength was his personal example. Impeccable ethics, al­ways precisely dressed, quiet, gentle, friendly, deeply and sincerely concerned for others, he was a leader of character and a true son of West Point. The U.S. Military Academy must be proud of Hal Parfitt, as are the Army, the Corps of Engineers, his classmates, his many friends, and most of all, Pat, Karen, and Beverly.

"ESSAYONS"-- Let us try! Hal Parfitt did, and he succeeded.

JWM, classmate and friend

Mr. and Mrs. William Parfitt, 5 West Phillips St., Coaldale, have been informed that their son, Harold, was recently promoted to the rank of Colonel in the United States Army.

Colonel Parfitt was one of 60 officers picked as "TRULY OUTSTANDING FROM A LIST WHICH CONTAINED MORE THAN FIVE THOUSAND NAMES."

Colonel Parfitt and his family returned in August from a three years tour of duty as Executive to the Engineer in Supreme Headquarters in Paris, France. He is currently Specialist Assistant to the Chief in the Engineer Supply Control Office in St. Louis, Mo.

Colonel Parfitt completed the regular command and general staff officer course at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, prior to his assignment in Paris.

A member of the ninth postwar class to attend the school, he was instructed in the theory of high command and the techniques of staff officers.

A veteran of World War II, he was wounded on D-Day, and holds the Bronze Star Medal, the Commendation Ribbon and the Purple Heart. Prior to his assignment in Paris, he served in Europe from 1944 to 1945 and in the Far East from 1948 to 1951.

Colonel Parfitt is a 1938 graduate of the Coaldale High School. He received his Master Degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and in June of 1943 was graduated from West Point Military Academy.

He is married to the former Patricia Scully, of Lexington, Ky. The couple has a daughter, Karen Elizabeth.

PARFITT, MAJOR, GENERAL HAROLD R. (USA- Ret.) Career Army officer, loving husband, devoted father and friend, joined our Lord after suffering a stroke on May 21, 2006, eighty-four years into a life that epitomized his beloved West Point values of "duty, honor, country." He was a humble man who always described his career simply: "I serve in the United States Army." His service began when he graduated from West Point in 1943 as a Second Lieutenant, and he retired as a Major General and the last Governor of the Panama Canal Zone after the 1979 treaty returning it to Panama. He was wounded landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day and served his country for 36 years and three wars, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. His many honors included two Distinguished Service Medals, two Legion of Merit Medals and the Purple Heart. He served as Commander of the U.S. Army Engineer Center and Commandant of The Engineer School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and was based in Dallas as Division Engineer for the Southwestern Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He earned a Masters in Science in Civil Engineering from MIT, graduated from Harvard's Advanced Management Program and represented the U.S. Army at the Canadian National Defense College. He was married to the love of his life, Pat Rose, for almost 51 wonderful years after asking her for a first date an entire month in advance. He is survived by his wife Patricia Parfitt, daughter Karen Parfitt Hughes and husband Jerry of Austin, daughter Beverly Rose Byrd and husband Mike of Dallas, grandchildren Robert Parfitt Hughes and Leigh Doggett and her daughter Lauren, and his niece Val Unger, husband Jim and great-niece Jami. Born August 6, 1921 in Coaldale, Pennsylvania, he was preceded in death by his parents, William and Elizabeth Parfitt and brother William J. Parfitt and sister-in-law Valeria. A celebration of his life will take place at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Dallas on Wednesday, May 24, at 3:30 p.m. Interment at Arlington National Cemetery, July 20. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the First Presbyterian church's Stewpot or any charity benefiting families of soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. Services entrusted to: Forest Lawn Funeral Home at Turtle Creek 3204 Fairmount Street Dallas Texas 75201 214-953-0363 Family Owned and Operated www.dallasforestlawn.com

Published in Dallas Morning News on May 24, 2006

The last Canal Zone governor dies in Dallas

Harold Robert Parfitt

Major General Harold R. Parfitt (US Army - Retired) died of a stroke on May 21 in the Baylor University Hospital in Dallas, Texas. He was 84 years old.

Parfitt is best known to Panama as the last governor of the old Canal Zone. Like most of the US presidential appointees who held that post, he came from the US Army Corps of Engineers.

A 1943 West Point graduate, Parfitt served in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Among the jobs he held in his military career, he was commander of the US Army Engineer Center and also director of the Engineer School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. He was awarded the Purple Heart, two Legion of Merit medals and two Distinguished Service Medals.

Parfitt is survived by two daughters, one of them Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Karen P. Hughes, two grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Fernando Manfredo worked closely with Parfitt, as the former was the deputy Panama Canal administrator in charge of the earlier part of the transition from US to Panamanian control and the latter had the duty of winding up the affairs of the former Canal Zone government. "Parfitt had the responsibility of maintaining the morale of the US employees of the canal after the Panama Canal Treaty was signed," Manfredo recalled. "He had to deal with their anger, their fears, their apprehensions. His most powerful management tool was his genuine leadership. He also played a vital role in making the end of the Canal Zone government, not an act of defeat, but of dignity."

The end of the Canal Zone was a traumatic event for many Zonians, and although most had the opportunity to stay on, the majority decided to leave soon after the 1977 Carter-Torrijos Treaties were ratified by both governments. However, a number of the former Canal Zone residents who left, particularly those of the Baby Boom generation, have been returning to Panama to live for a variety of reasons.

Although one can find many a Zonian with bitter memories of treaty time, it's hard to find a Zonian with bad things to say about Governor Parfitt. He was a soldier and he did his job, which was to implement a policy decided by the constitutional civilian government of the United States even though it was unpopular in the community he governed. Personally opposed to the US withdrawal from the Canal Zone, Parfitt nevertheless oversaw the dismantling of the American political administration of that enclave in a way that soothed hurt feelings as much as possible under the circumstances.

Parfitt's performance as the public servant cast into the middle of controversial events went a long way toward creating the current friendly attitude that the great majority of Panamanians have about Americans. This relationship was not nearly so warm when duty took him to the isthmus.