Local hero, Tomy Parker receives Purple Heart

BETHESDA, MD — The Commandant of the Marine Corps, the Corps’ highest ranking officer, presented Ronan Marine Tomy Parker with the Purple Heart last week for his sacrifice to his country. The Commandant was one of a number of the Marine’s recent high-profile visitors.

“He was very humble,” his mother’s partner Tim Corbett said of Tomy’s response to the honor.

Medically, things are progressing at a very rapid rate. The doctors are very happy, his legs are healing up well and they are very pleased with the synthetic skin graphs on his wounded arm, Corbett said.

Tomy has been able to get into his wheel chair and the physical therapy process of getting in and out of bed by himself started on Monday.

“It’s been very rapid, everybody that’s come by can’t believe how rapidly he’s getting better,” Corbett said. “Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were very tough on him, we tried to do the best we could, but both boys were just a little bit down, but by the 26th, they were both a lot better.”

Parker and his best friend Chris Montgomery, from Mobile, Ala., who Tomy helped when injured four days before his own accident occurred in Afghanistan, are now roommates.

“They talk about what happened so matter of fact,” Corbett said. “It’s really helped both of them being together.”

Send your best wishes to Tomy Parker via the Facebook group “Keeping the Faith for Tomy Parker” at keepingthefaithfortomy@groups.facebook.com.