[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 38 (Thursday, March 30, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E480]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING HARRY PARRISH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 30, 2006

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor for me to remember Mr. Harry 
Parrish, member of the Virginia General Assembly and decorated World 
War II pilot from Manassas, VA, who passed away on March 28 at the age 
of 84.
  Harry Parrish served over 50 years in elected office, including 13 
terms in the House of Delegates and chairman of the Finance Committee 
since 2000, Manassas council member, and mayor. At the time of his 
passing, he was the oldest serving member of the House of Delegates. 
During his 12 years as town councilman and 18 years as mayor, Harry 
helped guide the transformation of Manassas from a small Virginia town 
to a thriving, lively suburb. As a member of the House of Delegates, he 
was known for conducting himself in a bipartisan manner, putting 
Virginia first. I was proud to call Harry my friend. He was a true 
Virginia gentleman.
  Harry was also a decorated World War II pilot. As part of the British 
Royal Air Force he flew C-47s over the Himalayas delivering supplies, 
weapons and other cargo, from India to China. He received the 
Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal for his valiant efforts. 
He served as a reservist in the Korean and Vietnam wars before retiring 
as a colonel.
  I insert for the Record the Potomac News obituary from March 28. A 
northern Virginia native, Harry will be deeply missed by the people of 
Manassas, and at home by his family and wife, Mattie, of 62 years.

                 [From the Potomac News, Mar. 28, 2006]

                        Harry Parrish Dies at 84

                             (By Bob Lewis)

       Richmond, VA--Harry Parrish, who defied death as a 
     decorated World War II pilot and headed the state's most 
     powerful tax-writing panel in the General Assembly, died 
     Tuesday. He was 84.
       Parrish had been in intensive care at Prince William 
     Hospital for about three weeks, suffering from pneumonia. His 
     death was announced by Sen. John Chichester during a meeting 
     of the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Square.
       Parrish had been in declining health for at least two years 
     but continued a full legislative schedule, including acting 
     as chairman of the House Finance Committee, one of the most 
     powerful leadership positions in the General Assembly.
       Last year, Parrish warded off a Republican primary 
     challenge for his House seat--payback from his party's own 
     conservative wing for defying its anti-tax orthodoxy during 
     the 2004 tax battle.
       Parrish, the House of Delegates' oldest member, was in his 
     13th term from Manassas.
       He was born Feb. 19, 1922, in Fairfax County and moved as a 
     child with his family to Manassas, then a small, rural town. 
     He graduated from Osbourn High School in 1940 and later from 
     Virginia Tech.
       He joined the Army Air Force in 1942 and began pilot 
     training in Alabama, but was assigned to the British Royal 
     Air Force, where he completed his training.
       He was part of an allied mission to fly lumbering transport 
     planes laden with heavy supplies, weapons and ammunition from 
     India into China over the world's highest mountain range, the 
     Himalayas.
       The C-47s like the one Parrish flew took off from crude, 
     sometimes muddy airfields in the Indian jungles and struggled 
     to heft their cargo over icy peaks that doomed many flights. 
     Because Japan controlled land routes through Burma, the 
     airlifts over what pilots called ``the Hump'' were the only 
     way to supply the legendary Flying Tigers, which bombed Japan 
     from bases in China.
       Parrish received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air 
     Medal with two oak leaf clusters. He left active duty in 1946 
     but flew as an Air Force reservist in wars with Korea and 
     Vietnam before retiring as a colonel and command pilot.
       In 2002, as one of few remaining World War II veterans in 
     the General Assembly, Parrish helped secure Virginia's 
     $334,000 contribution to the National World War II Memorial 
     in Washington, D.C.
       ``I kind of regret us being the last state, but I'm glad we 
     finally came around,'' Parrish said in an interview, pained 
     that Virginia was the last state to contribute to the 
     memorial.
       Parrish was elected to the House in 1981 as part of an 
     insignificant Republican minority. Before that, he served for 
     12 years on the Manassas Town Council and for 18 years as 
     mayor. During his mayoral term, Manassas transformed from a 
     town into a thriving, affluent city.
       Through a total of 53 years in elected office, Parrish won 
     abiding respect as a listener and problem solver from 
     Republicans and Democrats. In 2000, when the GOP ended a 
     century of Democratic dominance in the House, Parrish became 
     co-chairman and later chairman of the Finance Committee, 
     where his evenhandedness endeared him delegates and senators 
     of both parties.
       ``He's my best friend,'' Democratic Sen. Charles J. Colgan 
     of Prince William said in a 2004 interview. ``He and I are 
     the only Democrat and Republican in the General Assembly ever 
     known to have held a fund raiser together.''
       Parrish was willing to exert his independence at times, 
     even at the risk of his own party's wrath and his prized 
     House leadership post.
       By two votes, Parrish's committee in 2004 advanced a bill 
     to increase taxes by about $1.4 billion. When the bill came 
     before the full House for a decisive vote that April, Parrish 
     was among 17 Republicans who sided with House Democrats to 
     pass it. The vote was critical to ending a 115-day session 
     that divided GOP legislators.
       In addition to his public duties, Parrish also is chairman 
     of the board of his family's business, the Manassas Ice and 
     Fuel Co.

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