World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThomas Wesley Parker was born in Leadville, Colorado, United States in 1907. Between 1935 and 1938, he worked as a photographer for the Works Progress Administration. Between 1938 and 1942, he was the information officer for the Colorado branch of the Federal Works Agency. In 1942, he joined the newly created Photographic Section of the War Relocation Authority's based in Denver, Colorado; in 1943, he would become the sector's director. In this role, he photographed life in Japanese-American internment camps. For a brief time, he took photographs for the United States Navy in 1944, but would return to WRA before the war's end. After WW2, he continued his career as a government photographer as an employee for the State Department stationed in various countries. He passed away in Sun City, Arizona, United States in 1976.

Photographs Taken by Thomas Parker