JASPER, AL, USA U.S. Army SPC, 55TH ENGINEER CO, 5TH ENGINEER BN, 555TH ENGINEER BDE, FORT LEONARD WOOD, MO BALAD, IRAQ 06/04/2009
Dusty was well liked. All his life, he cheered folks up. His wife, Ashley, knew it, and fellow soldiers, family members and figures from his youth all said it. Dusty’s mother, Tina Rigsby, and the rest of his family, his father, Dennis Parrish, his step father, Chris Rigsby, his sisters, Tasha Parrish and Brooke Parrish, and his brothers, K.J. Amerson and Seth Rigsby,
always expected great things from him. Tasha said
“He was kind and funny and could tease and comfort.” To help another in need, Dusty even chose the middle name of his only son in honor of a recently deceased classmate.
That surely explains why more than two hundred combat soldiers lined up outside his operating room in Iraq offering to donate blood in an unsuccessful attempt to save his life.
He was from Jasper, Alabama, and he graduated from Walker County High School in 2003. He was a competitive weight lifter, and he was proud to serve others as an Army medic.
Charles Dustin “Dusty” Parrish was a Specialist in the United States Army. He served as a platoon medic, 55th Engineer Co, 5th Engineer Battalion, 4th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade in Iraq.
He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal, and the Overseas Service Ribbon.