MIA for 57 years, a soldier finally comes home
By Garret Mathews
LOOGOOTEE, Ind. Ñ On Nov. 2, 1950, Sgt. Virgil Lee Phillips' unit was overrun by Chinese troops attacking near Unsan in North Korea.
Phillips' battalion was surrounded, and he was one of more than 350 soldiers unaccounted for after the battle.
The Martin County, Ind., man, who had a reputation for not walking away from a fight, was declared missing in action.
Return scheduled
On Wednesday, after more than 57 years as a statistic, the remains of the Korean War soldier are returning to Loogootee where he was born in 1925. On Friday, he will be buried with full military honors.
"This is a rare occurrence. It is an honor to have had a part in it," says Staff Sgt. Steve Elzy of the 151st Infantry Regiment in Washington, Ind., who has helped coordinate logistics. "A lot of people have been involved."
There's Cathy Jo Bryant, 46, of Columbus, Ind., a genealogy hobbyist who was researching Phillips when she learned about the Joint Prisoners of War, Missing in Action Accounting Command that works to identify Americans who were killed in action, but never brought home. She found out the group puts names on an average of six MIAs a month and that a prime tool is finding DNA matches.
There's Chad Phillips, Virgil Phillips' 31-year-old grandson and closest living relative, who drives a fertilizer truck and sometimes works 80 hours a week.
Calling himself "a shy country boy who likes to keep things simple," the Shoals, Ind., man was at first reluctant to "make a big deal" out of his grandfather's homecoming.
"But now I understand better what it all means," says the younger Phillips, who has helped plan the ceremonies.
There's Delbert Rapp, 75, of Vincennes, Ind., who is Virgil Phillips' cousin. He played a prime role without leaving his living room.
"The military sent a nurse out to my place about a year ago to get a blood sample. My DNA was right there with Virgil's and they knew they had something."
Rob Weddle works at Lee Funeral Home in Loogootee. He said Phillips' remains will be flown from Hawaii to Indianapolis, arriving around noon Wednesday.
He expects a crowd of well-wishers to gather when the funeral procession reaches Loogootee. He is contacting American Legion posts in an effort to find pallbearers who served in the Korean War.
Services Friday
The visitation will begin Friday at 10 a.m. with the funeral scheduled for 2 p.m. Burial will follow at the Goodwill Cemetery in Loogootee.
Elzy says the remains first were discovered in 2005 about 60 miles from the Chinese border by a North Korean road construction crew.
The positive identification was made in December 2007.
"It was the family's decision to wait until what they believed to be the proper time to bring him home," says the 50-year-old Elzy, who's been in the military for 21 years.
Chad Phillips says it has been hard to fully grasp his grandfather's life "because I wasn't even being talked about when he went missing."
He plans to take off Wednesday and again on Friday.
"That's unusual for me because I'm pretty much always working. If I'm not on my truck, I'm out helping my buddy on his farm."
Cathy Jo Bryant's grandmother and Delbert Rapp's mother were sisters.
"I tried to give my DNA, but I wasn't eligible," Bryant says. "It had to be somebody from Virgil's mother's side."
Bryant passed along Delbert Rapp's name, and the identification process took a giant step forward.
"It's been eight years since I first requested Virgil's file from the military," Bryant says.
"Getting a match was more than I expected. That would have been like wishful thinking."
Chad Phillips didn't find out about her efforts until they were well under way.
"I just pretty much did it on my own," Bryant says. "I hoped nobody in the family would have a bad reaction to it, and they haven't."
Virgil Phillips was born in Martin County, but he spent a lot of time in Columbus, Ind.
"I remember him as a little guy who always stood up for himself," Delbert Rapp says. "If somebody wanted to take him on in a fight, he was ready to go."
He says Virgil's parents separated when he was a little boy, and a grandmother looked after him.
"I was raised in Illinois. We didn't see each other much except during the summer."
Delbert Rapp had long believed Phillips "was lost for sure. This is a happy time."
© 2007 The E.W. Scripps Co.