Roger Parrish was born on February l, 1935 in Carbondale, Illinois. He has been fascinated by flying since he was a child and received his private pilot’s license and commercial pilot’s license just after graduating from high school. He was a member of the Air Force ROTC programs at Southern Illinois University and the University of Illinois, during which he received his Flight Instructor’s license. After graduating from the University of Illinois, he entered Air Force flight training in the T-34, T-28 and T-33. He graduated first in his class in 1957 and went on to train in the F-lOO at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona.