Veterans Day – Remembering Lt. John C. Phillips
from Grief Beliefs guide to Reconciling Grief and Mourning
Thank you 1st Lieutenant John C. Phillips for saving my father’s life!
1st Lieutenant (Platoon Leader) Lt. John C. Phillips, 1945
The Company Morning Report Data document for January 29, 1945 for First Lieutenant (Platoon Leader) John C. Phillips reads, “Battle Casualty. Missing in action in Belgium and dropped from rolls effective 26 January 1945.”
April 25, 1923 – November 12, 2013
Sgt. Lawrence B. Lyon, Junior, 1945
The same report for January 31, 1945 for Sgt. Lawrence B. Lyon, Junior reads, “Battle Casualty. Lightly wounded in action (right and left thigh). Transferred to 45th evacuation hospital and dropped from assignment effective 26 January 1945.” Biographical notes read, “from Hill County Texas. Born 1925. One year of college. Civilian occupation: sales clerk. Single.”
November 12, 1925 – July 17, 1999
Honoring Lt. John C. Phillips
November 14, 2013
Karen,
It is my unfortunate duty to inform you that our friend, John Phillips, has passed away. John had suffered a couple of broken bones over the past couple of years with a third just recently. At 90 years of age, John underwent surgical repair of this only to wind up contracting pneumonia resulting in heart and kidney problems. John was a good man and I was, and still am, honored to call him a friend.
I cannot tell you strong enough just how gratifying it was for John Rogers (from Tulsa, OK.), his son, Brandon, Tony Vecchio, and myself to find the fire break through the trees on the hill just outside Medel, Belgium, and the open field on top of that ridge where the action took place back in January of 1945 which resulted in the wounding of John and your Dad, Sgt. Lawrence Lyon. I will never forget that day. It was cold and windy and I had a phone which would reach back to the US. Gaining the top of the ridge I called John (7:00 A.M. in Des Moines, Iowa): John said: “Where in the hell are you?” I told him I was on top of the ridge. He was floored. Turned out our group of four was standing in the exact spot where your Dad, John, and the others were when all were hit by that German machine gun. While your Dad and Lt. John C. Phillips survived the others with them were all killed. We brought the pictures back and showed them to John. The man had an incredible memory. I guess if something like that had happened to one of us and we survived we would also never forget it.
After being hit by five slugs from a German machine gun, the German’s took everything John had on him at the time, including a small address book with the names and address of his men (including your Dad), and therefore he was never able to contact any of the men from his unit. Lt. John C. Phillips capture was followed by months in the German POW compound at Mooseburg, Germany.
Bob Holliday
Join me in honoring the veterans in your life as we remember 1st Lieutenant John C. Phillips!
Blessings,
Karen Lindwall-Bourg
“Achieve Levels of Success Worth Celebrating”
*Founder, Karen Bourg Companies http://karenbourg.com
*Owner, President {Inter}National Association of Christian Women Entrepreneurs/International Christian Mompreneur Network http://nacwe.org
*Founder, RHEMA Publishing House http://rhemapublishinghouse.com
*Founder, RHEMA Lakeside Retreat Center https://www.facebook.com/rhemaretreat/
*Founder, RHEMA Counseling Associates http://rhemacounseling.com
About Karen Lindwall-Bourg
Karen Lindwall-Bourg is the President of the {Inter} National Association of Christian Women Entrepreneurs [est. May 2010] and the new President of the International Christian Mompreneur Network [est. July 2010], both at http://nacwe.org . She and the NACWE Operations and Leadership Teams work diligently to provide
· Community
· Networking
· Education
· Missions
opportunities to Christian Women Entrepreneurs, Mompreneurs and Nanapreneurs alike all over the world!
Our Core Values are
· Community – we value Connection, Collaboration and Contribution
· Networking – we value Nurture, New relationships and New and innovative offers
· Education – we value Encouragement, Excellence and Expressiveness, and
· Missions – we value Ministry and Making a difference
Karen is wife to Fred, Mommy to 6 kids and 5 in-loves, Nana to “going-on” 12 grandchildren, and treat provider deluxe for a herd of Great Pyrenees who protect their north TX ranch! She is an entrepreneur coach, author, publisher, retreat hostess and more! Learn more about Mastermind groups and “Celebration” coaching with Karen at http://karenbourg.com