Iraqi War
Soldier Obituaries
Los Angeles Times (CA) -
September 3, 2006 Seth A. Hildreth, 26, of Myrtle Beach , S.C.;
specialist, Army. Hildreth was killed Aug. 27 when a roadside bomb
exploded near his vehicle in Baghdad. He was assigned to the 1st
Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division
at Ft. Hood, Texas. Anthony C. Owens, 21, of Conway, S.C.; specialist,
Army. Owens was killed Wednesday when his unit was attacked with
grenades and small-arms fire in Baghdad. He was assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st
Airborne Division at Ft. Campbell, Ky. Charlotte Observer, The (NC) - March 23,
2006 Anthony Owens' family is trying to deal with the loss
by collecting pictures of the soldier and thinking about the kind of
life he led. "I want people to remember him as a special person.
He'd give you the shirt off his back," said his father, Ronnie
Owens. "I didn't just lose my son; I lost my friend." Owens, 21, of Conway, S.C., was killed Feb. 1 when his
unit was attacked in Baghdad. He was assigned to Fort Campbell,
Ky. Sun News, The (Myrtle Beach, SC) - September 30, 2008 Just as their Conway dining room's wood-paneled walls
are full of family photos, Ronald and Wanda Phillips are full of
stories about their oldest son, Staff Sgt. Ronald Phillips Jr. The
33-year-old 3rd Infantry Division member died Thursday while leading
a four-vehicle patrol during his second tour in the U.S. Army in
Iraq - four days before he was scheduled to return to his Fort
Stewart, Ga., home on a two-week leave. Army Capt. Justin DeVantier said the soldier, who his
family simply called "Ron," died after an improvised explosive
device was detonated in Bahbahani, about 27 miles south of Baghdad.
The family learned of his death in a phone call around 7:15 a.m.
Friday. "It was like someone hit me upside the head with a 2
by 4, one of those that just sticks and stings," said Ronald
Phillips. He and his wife last saw Ron just over a year ago. Wanda Phillips says a moment with a pastor during her
son's high school days was his first nudge toward service. "God said, 'If you serve me, I'm going to take you
places,'" she said, reading from the family's written account of
what Ron was told that day. "You're going to be able to run with
young people and go with teams. You're going to countries in the
world ... and you'll be part of an exciting move." "All Ron heard out of that was he was going to lead
teams," said Ronald Phillips, laughing. "Well, he was a basketball
player and said, 'Oh, Daddy, I'm going overseas to play basketball.'
I said, 'Boy, that ain't what that means.'" Wanda Phillips remembers being shocked when her son
enlisted in the Army in 1996, after graduating from Conway High
School in 1994. "He didn't even like to wear his McDonald's uniform,"
she said, chuckling. The Phillips pepper tales of their son with equal
parts tenderness and strength, describing him as a man as likely to
lavish his wife and two young children with love as he was to chase
after rambunctious soldiers. "I told him it was God that put him there," said Wanda
Phillips, describing conversations via a Web camera with her son.
"I'd tell him, 'Son, don't forget why you're there. You've got young
soldiers and they're just scared.'" As family, friends and neighbors gathered Monday at
the Phillips' house on Jordan Lane, Trish Hughes described Phillips
Jr. as part of a loving, sweet family. "You can't help but love them," she said. "I know
[they] would be there for me." Ronald Phillips says he knows it's important for the
family to savor memories and move forward together. "We have three things going for us: great friends, a
super family and an awesome God," he said. "In the end, we'll make
it." For a photo gallery, go to MyrtleBeachOnline.com. Funeral service 1 p.m. Friday, Friendship Baptist
Church, 1111 Grainger Road, Conway Internment to follow, St. Elizabeth Missionary Baptist
Church, 57 Church St.,
Aynor
Horry County, South Carolina
Genealogy Trails
Seth A.
Hildreth
Los Angeles Times (CA) - February 5, 2006
Anthony C. Owens
Army Spc. Anthony
Owens
Sgt. Ronald Phillips Jr.
Family shares memories of late soldier
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