Commanding Fire: An Officer's Life in the 151st Machine Gun Battalion, 42nd Rainbow Division During World War I
Lieutenant N.P. Parkinson (1890-1978) was born in Centralia, Illinois, and graduated from Millikin College in Decatur, Illinois, before joining the army on July 4, 1917. After his commission as a second lieutenant he was assigned to the 151st Machine Gun Battalion, 42nd Rainbow Division where he commanded a machine gun platoon through all the major fighting of the Division. Following the war Parkinson was an insurance agent, state official, and executive in Illinois. Editor Joel R. Parkinson is the youngest grandson of Lieutenant Parkinson. A graduate of the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, Parkinson spent eight years in research & development for nuclear submarines during the Cold War before entering the ministry. He is currently pastor of Covenant Bible Church in Alliance, Ohio, as well as the Director and Curator of the World War History & Art Museum in Alliance.