Paul David Phillips (March 9, 1918 – August 27, 2023) was a United States Army Brigadier General and government official.

Early life

He was born in Denver, Colorado on March 9, 1918, the son of Floyd E. Phillips and Josephine Scureman.PERSONAL NARRATIVE – Paul David Phillips Collection (Library of Congress) Interview
/ref> He later attended Edison Grammar School, Skinner Junior High School, and

North High School North High School may refer to: * North High School (Phoenix, Arizona) * North Pulaski High School, Jacksonville, Arkansas * North High School (Bakersfield, California) * John W. North High School, Riverside, California * North High School (Torran ...

. While in high school he worked for the Bureau of Biological Survey at a U.S. Customs house in downtown Denver. He then enrolled in the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

on a one year scholarship and would later take the exam for West Point. He was appointed to the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

Edward P. Costigan from Colorado on July 1, 1936.1940 Class History
/ref>

Further education and military service

He graduated from the academy in 1940 and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Field Artillery branch of the United States Army (ASN: O-22939). After graduation he attended the

United States Army Field Artillery School The United States Army Field Artillery School (USAFAS) trains Field Artillery Soldiers and Marines in tactics, techniques, and procedures for the employment of fire support systems in support of the maneuver commander. The school further devel ...

and later served as a battery officer for the

18th Field Artillery Regiment The 18th Field Artillery Regiment is a field artillery regiment of the United States Army first formed in 1916. History The 18th Field Artillery was organized 1 June 1917 in the Regular Army. Lineage Distinctive unit insignia *Description A ...

.Biographical register of the officers and graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., from its establishment, in 1802 : (Supplement, volume IX 1940–1950), page 1047
/ref> In 1941 he served as a battery officer at

Fort Stotsenburg Fort Stotsenburg, during the World War II era, was the location of the Philippine Department's 26th Cavalry Regiment (PS), 86th Field Artillery Battalion, and 88th Field Artillery Regiment; along with the Philippine Division's 23rd and 2 ...

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

in the

Philippine Islands The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. From 1941 to 1942 he served as an assistant to Chief of Staff, G-2 and later G-3 for the Visayan Mindanao Force. In 1942 he served with the 24th Field Artillery Regiment and later moved up through staff and field positions while serving with the Visayan Mindanao Force. On May 11, 1942, his unit surrendered to Japanese forces and he would spend the remainder of the war in POW camps in

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

, Luzon,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

and

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. As a prisoner of war he survived the sinking of two ships that were bombed by allied aircraft that were unaware that the ships were carrying prisoners. The last camp he was held in (the Hoten Camp) was liberated on August 20, 1945, by Soviet troops and a small OSS team. He returned to the United States in 1945 and attended Officer Candidate school in Washington, D.C. He then attended the United States Army Field Artillery School for a second time joining the faculty in the gunnery department. He later attended the

Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

for three years and commanded the 27th Armored Field Artillery Battalion of the 1st Armored Division. From 1952 to 1954 he served in the civil affairs division of Headquarters,

United States Army Europe United States Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF) is an Army Service Component Command (ASCC) /Theater Army responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICO ...

.Official register of the officers and cadets. 1971 (page 484)
/ref> He then served as a personnel officer and plans officer (G-3) for the 2nd Armored Division and attended the

Armed Forces Staff College The Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC), located in Norfolk, Virginia, was established as the Armed Forces Staff College in 1946 and incorporated into the National Defense University in August 1981. It educates and acculturates joint and multinat ...

, graduating in 1955.WPAOG Recognizes BG(R) Paul D. Phillips ’40 as the Newest Oldest Living West Point Graduate
/ref> In the late 1950s he would serve as the action officer for the implementation of the 1958 DoD Reorganization Act, was assigned to the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, and then as special assistant and executive to the Director of the Joint Staff.Hearings Before and Special Reports Made by Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives on Subjects Affecting the Naval and Military Establishments, Part 2 (1975)
/ref>Reorganization of the Department of Defense : hearings before the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate, Ninety-ninth Congress, first session, October 16; November 14, 19, 20, 21; December 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 1985
/ref> He attended and graduated from the

National War College In the United States, the National War College (NWC) is a school within the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National ...

in 1960 and then served as Deputy Commander of I Corps Artillery in Korea until 1961. He then served on the staff & faculty of the

Air War College The Air War College (AWC) is the senior Professional Military Education (PME) school of the U.S. Air Force. A part of the United States Air Force's Air University (United States Air Force), Air University, AWC emphasizes the employment of air, ...

and would later attend

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

graduating in 1963 with a master's degree in international affairs. He then served in the office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Force Development as director of plans and programs from 1964 to 1966. He retired from the army in 1966.U.S. Army register. 1969 v.3-4
/ref>

Dates of Rank

*June 11, 1940: Second Lieutenant ( RA) *October 10, 1941:

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

( AUS) *December 19, 1941:

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

(AUS)U.S. Army register. 1943
/ref> *April 13, 1942:

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

(AUS) *June 11, 1943: First Lieutenant (RA) *August 20, 1945: Lieutenant Colonel (AUS) *July 15, 1948: Captain (RA) *August 29, 1952: Major (RA) *June 7, 1957:

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

(AUS) *June 11, 1960: Lieutenant Colonel (RA) *May 30, 1964: Brigadier General (AUS) *June 11, 1965: Colonel (RA) *June 1966: Brigadier General (retired)

Post military service

From 1966 to 1968 and 1969 to 1971 he worked for the

Research Analysis Corporation Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to c ...

serving as a senior analyst and later assistant to the vice president of the company. From 1968 to 1969 and 1971 to 1979 he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. While in this position he also served as acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs in the years 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1977. He retired from government service in 1979. From 1979 until around the late 1980s he worked as a

manpower Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ...

consultant A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

in Denver.

Personal life and death

He married Rita A. Ruzicka after graduation from West Point in June 1940 and they had three children together. She died in 1991. He died on August 27, 2023, in Highlands Ranch, Colorado at the age of 105.Paul D. Phillips – 1940
/ref> His remains were cremated and his ashes were buried at Saint John's Episcopal Church Columbarium in

Granby, Colorado The Town of Granby is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory town, Statutory Town that is the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality in Grand County, Colorado, Grand County, Colorado, United States. The town pop ...

. Until his death he was the oldest living West Point graduate.West Point Magazine Spring 2023
/ref>

Awards and decorations

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. ...

Paul D. Phillips – Military Times/Hall of Valor
/ref> *

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

with

oak leaf cluster An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a spec ...

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issu ...

* Army Distinguished Civilian Service Medal *

Prisoner of War Medal The Prisoner of War Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was authorized by Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on 8 November 1985. The United States Code citation for the POW Medal statute is . The ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Paul D. 1918 births 2023 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army generals United States Military Academy alumni Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Silver Star United States Army Field Artillery Branch personnel National War College alumni United States Department of the Army officials Military personnel from Denver George Washington University alumni United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Joint Forces Staff College alumni World War II prisoners of war held by Japan American men centenarians