Ships
- USS Parrott (DD-218) Captain, 15 February 1944 to 16 June 1944
Lieutenant Edward Falka Rye of the United States Navy commanded the destroyer Parrott from 15 February 1944 to 16 June 1944. He took her as a lieutenant, in succession to John Nelson Hughes, and he was still her commanding officer on the day she was decommissioned.
Parrott (DD-218) was a Clemson-class destroyer, laid down in July 1919 by William Cramp and Sons at Philadelphia, launched that November, and commissioned in May 1920. She spent the interwar years largely with the Asiatic Fleet. After December 1941 she fought in the Dutch East Indies with the American-British-Dutch-Australian force. On the night of 23–24 January 1942 she entered Balikpapan Bay with three other American destroyers and attacked Japanese transports lying at anchor. That attack, and the rest of the East Indies campaign, belonged to earlier captains. Edward Nelson Parker had her from December 1939 into January 1942, and Hughes had her from then until Rye relieved him. Balikpapan was not his.
Rye’s months in Parrott were spent on the Atlantic. After the East Indies campaign the old destroyer had come home and settled into convoy and antisubmarine duty. In the spring of 1944, under his command, she helped escort the homeward convoy GUS-34 and reached Boston on 15 April.
On 2 May 1944, while Parrott was getting underway at Norfolk, the steamship John Morton collided with her. The blow left the destroyer so badly damaged that tugs had to beach her. Six men were killed. She was later towed to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. She was not repaired.
Rye remained in command while the ship lay idle. On 16 June 1944 Parrott was decommissioned, and his command ended that same day. The hull was struck from the Navy list on 18 July 1944 and sold for scrap on 5 April 1947.