Director for Smithsonian Traveling Exhibitions

Parker Hayes, 36, project director for the Smithsonian Institution's traveling exhibitions whose documentation of the heroics of a Vietnam War airman resulted in the posthumous award of a Medal of Honor, died Aug. 2 at his home in Washington.

A spokeswoman for the D.C. Medical Examiner's office said determination of the cause of his death is pending further tests.

Mr. Hayes directed the staging of two major traveling exhibitions, "Sports: Breaking Records, Breaking Barriers," and the bilingual "Beyond Baseball: The Life of Roberto Clemente." The exhibitions go to schools, museums and other venues around the globe.

Before joining the Smithsonian in 2001, he worked at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Airmen Memorial Museum in Suitland and the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

While working as a curator the Airmen museum from 1997 to 1999, Mr. Hayes came across the story of William H. Pitsenbarger, a pararescue jumper in the Air Force. On April 12, 1966, Pitsenbarger descended from a helicopter to help rescue soldiers wounded during a fierce battle near Cam My in South Vietnam.

While he sent nine wounded men up to the helicopter, one by one, in litters, the unit was overrun and Pitsenbarger was killed while protecting other wounded men. His commanding officer immediately recommended Pitsenbarger for the Medal of Honor, but the nomination was downgraded to Air Force Cross, the service's next-highest award for valor.

More than 30 years later, Mr. Hayes heard about the airman's actions and wrote a short biography for the museum. A month later, fellow parajumpers and historians began calling and urged him to work on seeking a formal reconsideration for the Medal of Honor recommendation.

Mr. Hayes found 12 survivors of the incident who were willing to be interviewed. "The interviews were some of the most draining and toughest experiences I have ever had," Mr. Hayes wrote for his graduate school's alumni newsletter. "As they retold the worst day of their lives, I found it impossible not to become involved."

He completed the recommendation, sent it to the Air Force and in 2000, Mr. Hayes attended the Medal of Honor awards ceremony in Dayton, Ohio, which drew 3,000 people.

William Parker Hayes Jr. was born in Williamsburg and grew up in Lewistown, Pa. He graduated from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., and received a master's degree in museum studies from New York's Cooperstown Graduate Program in 1997.

His master's thesis on an itinerant 19th-century folk artist became the foundation for an exhibit at the New York State Historical Association in Cooperstown and the American Folk Art Museum in New York City.

A Philadelphia Phillies and Penn State sports fan, Mr. Hayes also enjoyed hiking, golf, tennis, hunting, softball and volleyball. He played and coached in the D.C. Metro Sports Leagues and the Glover Park softball league.

His marriage to Kendra Shoemaker ended in divorce.

Survivors include his wife of 11 months, Jennifer M. Schommer of Washington; his parents, William and Connie Hayes of State College, Pa.; his grandmother, Margaret M. Harpster of Lewistown, Pa.; a brother; and a sister.