[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 145 (Thursday, September 27, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1998]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




COMMENDING SIDNEY PHILLIPS, OF MOBILE, ALABAMA, FOR HIS SERVICE DURING 
                              WORLD WAR II

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                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 27, 2007

  Mr. BONNER. Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise today to 
recognize Dr. Sidney Phillips of Mobile, Alabama, for his courageous 
service during World War II. At just 17 years of age when the Japanese 
attacked Pearl Harbor, young Sidney Phillips signed up for the Marines.
  After training, Pvt. Phillips was assigned to H Company, 2nd 
Battalion, 1st Marines Regiment, 1st Marine Division, and taught to 
operate the 81 mm mortar. He went overseas in the spring of 1942 first 
to New Zealand, and then to the Solomon Islands that August where he 
participated in the landings on Guadalcanal. He survived four months of 
combat on the island and fought in many battles, including the Battle 
of the Tenaru.
  At the end of 1943, he was sent to New Guinea for training and 
participated in the invasion of Cape Gloucester, on the western tip of 
New Britain. In 1944, he was sent back to the United States for the V-
12 naval officer training program. He was still in training when the 
war ended, and was able to return to Mobile.
  His story is told in the Ken Burns' documentary series ``The War.'' 
He is now a retired physician living in Theodore. In 1997, Dr. Phillips 
penned his war memoir entitled, ``You'll Be Sor-ree!''
  Madam Speaker, the recognition of Dr. Sidney Phillips in ``The War'' 
documentary is an appropriate time for us to pause and thank him--and 
all of the soldiers who fought in World War II. They personify the very 
best America has to offer. I urge my colleagues to take a moment to pay 
tribute to Dr. Phillips and his selfless devotion to our country and 
the freedom we enjoy.

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