Saved by ‘Gatling Gun Parker’
I am writing in regard to the article “‘Gatling Gun Parker’” [Valor, by David T. Zabecki, Spring 2023]. My grandfather Herbert Hopkins, of Bethel, Conn., served with John Henry Parker in France as part of the 26th (Yankee) Division’s 102nd Infantry Regiment. At the time Parker was a colonel.
From an early age Hopkins, who had both excellent hearing and eyesight, was a hunter. He wasa natural mission for him. He used a .30-06 Springfield with open sights. He despised the Enfields. His targets were German officers. He never knew how many officers he killed or wounded but said that wounding a victim was possibly better because it would require several other soldiers to provide care.
