Voice of the Conservative Vote: Dr. Thomas J. Parr

Dr. Thomas J. Parr's story should be taught and known. This man reflects what is good and right about our country.

In 1967, Thomas Parr graduated from the United States Military Academy. While studying and training at West Point, he completed Ranger School. This earned him the coveted Ranger Tab. After graduation, he served in two tours to Germany and Vietnam. In Germany, he commanded an Armored Cavalry Troop during the Soviet Union's invasion of Czechoslovakia. In Vietnam, he served as Commander of a Mechanized Infantry Company. The training he endured in Ranger School provided him with the tools to soldier as a combat leader.

He commanded his troop to root out the Viet Cong underground organization. He did this by moving his troop quickly through the search areas in order to barricade villages harboring Viet Cong. This provided the village with protection and ultimately drove out the enemy. For his service and leadership in Vietnam, he earned the Combat Infantryman Badge and three Bronze Stars for Valor and Merit.

After serving time in combat, he soon realized his calling was medicine. Parr stayed enlisted and got his degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas in 1975. He traded his officer's uniform for scrubs and became an Orthopedic Surgeon . He interned and did his residency at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. By the late 80s, he relocated to Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington to become the Assistant Chief of Orthopedics. There, he set up the surgery department and trained physicians. He was among the first Army surgeons to start performing arthroscopic surgery.

He served our country over 20 years and retired as United States Army Medical Corps Colonel. Following his military retirement in 1987, Dr. Parr and his wife, Joannie, came back to Texas--of course. Once back in the Lone Star State, Dr. Parr started a private practice in Sugar Land. And the rest they say is history. His achievements as an orthopedic surgeon have made him well known and well respected. He is recognized nationally as a leader in Orthopedic and Sports Injury Medicine and today, he continues to make remarkable strides in the medical field. He's the first in the nation to perform MAKOplasty--a robotic arm procedure used in knee replacement surgery.

As a staunch defender of America and her values, Dr. Parr has translated his service from the battlefield to the operating room and now into our community. Today, he serves on the Board of Directors for the West Point Society of Greater Houston, helping deserving youth to apply and obtain acceptance into any of our nation's military academies.

With his twenty years of military service and medical expertise, Dr. Parr helps future military cadets work their way through the medical requirements of eligibility. Despite his busy schedule, Dr. Parr always has time to help those with ties to the military service. Once a Marine, always a Marine.

Dr. Parr's life journey is one of honor, duty, God, country and helping his fellow man. From the United States Military Academy at West Point to the jungles of Vietnam, to the operating rooms of Washington and now in the surgical rooms in Houston, Texas, Dr. Parr has made, and is still making, a difference to our nation.

And that's just the way it is.