[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16681]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          LT. COL. THOMAS PARR--SOLDIER, SURGEON, AND SCHOLAR

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 27, 2015

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, 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.

                          ____________________