Charles Thomas "Chick" Parsons Jr. (April 22, 1902 – May 12, 1988) was an American businessman, diplomat, and decorated World War II veteran.

[3] A postgraduate course in commerce and his increased fluency in the local dialects allowed Parsons to find work with the Philippine Telephone and Telegraph Company.

This job required Parsons to travel extensively throughout Mindanao, learning details about the island and its inhabitants that would save his life many times during World War II.

Then, on the night of December 8, 1941, a fellow reserve officer woke Parsons up and informed him that the entire personnel and equipment of the Luzon Stevedoring Company had been taken into the United States Navy.

During the early days of the war, Lieutenant Parsons worked resupplying American submarines which came into Manila Bay or relocating supplies to Bataan and Corregidor.

[3][5] Due to his knowledge of the Philippines and his previous business activities, Japanese businessmen offered Parsons a position as manager of several mines, some of them his own.

Charles Parsons often did this dressed as a Filipino peasant, the disguise enhanced by his deeply-tanned skin caused by years in the tropical sun.

Parsons was among those arrested and held for a period of time and tortured, then released because of his Panamanian diplomatic status and permitted to leave with his family in June 1942.

Once his family was safely settled in the United States, he volunteered his services to help the Allies in the Pacific, reporting to General Douglas MacArthur.

Parsons' extensive knowledge of the Philippines and its culture plus an established network of trusted contacts made it possible for him to travel throughout the vast archipelago and communicate effectively with Filipino and American guerrillas, escaping enemy detection.

[8]: 136  He also organized and maintained extensive intelligence networks and coastwatcher radio stations throughout the country, which transmitted information on Japanese troop movements to the Allies.

For his distinguished military and public service, Parsons was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, two Navy Crosses, the Bronze Star, the Order of Saint Sylvester from the Vatican, the Orden de Vasco Núñez de Balboa from Panama, the Philippine Legion of Honor, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines Medal of Valor.