The Colonel (70 page)

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T
HE
English writer Richard Holmes described the crafting of biography as “a haunting, an act of
deliberate psychological trespass, a continuous living dialogue between subject and author as they move over the same historical ground.”

That analogy seemed apt as I readied this manuscript, since I haunted the streets of Tom Parker’s past, and he haunted my daylight and my dreams. Many times, we seemed to do battle as I
struggled to decode the cryptic actions of his life. For a man who lived eighty-seven years, he left remarkably few words on the major events of his nine decades, neither writing a tome of his own,
nor cooperating with journalists, as if daring a biographer to create an accurate account from stony silence.

Judith Thurman, reflecting on the French writer Colette, the subject of her own biographical work, has said that during this mysterious process of committing a life to the page she felt at some
level Colette “was waiting for the recognizer—someone who would see through her poses and her masks and her reticence and describe her to herself.” But Colette would not
collaborate with her: “She wanted to control the narrative.”

At the most difficult juncture of researching this biography, Parker seemed to do the same—to taunt me, to invite me to explain him, if not to himself, to others. But then just as quickly,
he, like Colette, attempted to exercise control, erecting one hurdle after another.

If I succeeded in capturing him, in pinning him to the ground like Lemuel Gulliver in the land of Lilliputians, it was only with a great deal of help, beginning with Michael Korda and Chuck
Adams at Simon & Schuster, who understood the project in a way that almost no one else did.

Beyond those who helped with the mechanics of turning a manuscript into a book are the people who offered the information that made the story live and breathe, all of whom knew a different Tom
Parker. Without them, he would never have arrived between these covers with his complexity intact. I owe tremendous gratitude to the following:

In Holland, many people worked diligently to help me shed some light in dark corners, beginning with Parker’s family—his sister, Marie Gort–van Kuijk; his niece, Maria (Mieke)
Dons-Maas; and her husband, Ted Dons. They opened their homes and their hearts to me. I will always cherish them for that singular experience, and for their friendship. Parker’s refusal to
acknowledge these very loving people in his latter years was to deny himself an extraordinary gift.

I am also exceedingly grateful to Angelo Somers and Hanneke Neutkens, who champion Parker’s legacy in his native country, and to - Parker’s nephew Ad van Kuijk Jr., for sharing
precious family documents.

A number of Dutch lawyers provided essential information, including Erik M. J. Thomas of Schoenmakers & Thomas, Breda, Holland, and Pauline Reitsma, who midwifed the legal process of
examining old police reports. Additionally, several archivists worked cheerfully to marshal dates of births, deaths, and marriages, including Mevr. M.-L. van den Wijngaard, City Archives Section
Head, and C. J. J. Biemans-Voesenek, City Archives, Breda, Holland. A profound thanks goes to Amnon and Lynn Shiboleth and Lilyan Wilder for serving as vital contacts to key figures of this
group.

Although he left his native Holland long ago, Lee Wulffraat set me straight on so many aspects of Dutch life, educated me about the kinds of boats that likely transported the future Colonel
Parker to America, and offered countless translations of important articles, documents, and letters. He was a constant friend, always willing to try to do the impossible. His brother, Tony
Wulffraat, still residing in the Netherlands, was as giving and helpful, spending his Christmas holidays taking photographs that helped me understand one part of the story so well. Lee’s
daughter, Karen, proved the important link in our fortuitous meeting, and in fact, the book seemed to become a Wulffraat family project, as Elsa and Wim van Pelt, Lee’s sister and
brother-in-law, and Ine Wulffraat, Tony’s wife, also helped decipher antiquated texts and speed the translations.

No amount of thanks can convey my deep appreciation to the Dutch journalist Constant Meijers, who shared both his keen insights into - Parker’s personality and his transcripts of
interviews from his documentary film
Looking for Colonel Parker.
In the darkest days of this project, his shared belief kept me going.

I’m grateful also to the Holland Society of New York; Professor David van Kuijk; Tanja Eikenboom Warren, for translations of crucial Dutch periodicals; Adriaan Sturm and Willem Kaauw, for
magazine articles and photographs concerning Parker’s origins in the Netherlands; and to E. A. van den Enden–v. Meer, Harry van den Enden, and Ad van den Enden, for clues into the
fundamental mystery at the heart of this saga. Additionally, Frans de Leeuw at Breda’s St. Joseph School cleared up some confusion about Parker’s early education.

There are others without whom this book would not have moved beyond the routine assimilation of dates and facts. Dirk Vellenga and Mick Farren, whose seminal
Elvis and the Colonel
laid
the foundation for this work, spoke with candor about the still-elusive nature of the subject. In pointing me in some new directions, they provided a blueprint for my research. This book would
clearly not exist without theirs.

Peter Whitmer, Ph.D., and the author of
The Inner Elvis,
supplied a plethora of original source material, invaluable psychological profiling of the Colonel, and a much appreciated
analysis of Parker’s letter to his Dutch nephew. He also propped me up when the going got rough.

Dick Bielen of the U.S. Locator Service worked tirelessly to find - Parker’s long-lost army records, which add immeasurably to the understanding of the Colonel’s early years in
America. Unquestionably, these records stand as the most exciting and illuminating evidence of Parker’s psychological make-up.

Finally, Bolling Smith, the editor of
The Coast Defense Journal,
read the military chapter and straightened out some crooked facts, and Michael Streissguth, Eddy Arnold’s
biographer, helped me corral the facts of the Arnold years. He also shared his interview transcripts, made introductions, and offered support for an often sagging morale.