Eddie Mitchell 'Mitch' Phillips
MARY ESTTHER, Fla. Funeral for former Lawton resident retired Air Force Maj. Eddie Mitchell "Mitch" Phillips, Mary Esther, Fla., will be at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Becker Funeral Home Memorial Chapel with the Rev. Royce Littrell, retired Methodist minister, Cache, officiating.
Major Phillips died Saturday, Feb. 25, 2006 in Las Vegas.
Burial with full military honors will be in Highland Cemetery.
He was born June 14, 1954 in Lawton. He graduated from Chattanooga High School in 1972 and graduated from Cameron University with a Bachelor's Degree in Business in 1978. After graduation, he enlisted and served in the U. S. Marine Corps.
He was commissioned as an officer in the Air Force in 1981. He was an electronic warfare officer on the RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft. While flying, he supported several U.S. operations including the Achille Lauro hijacking, the Gulf of Sidra, Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He received many awards including three Meritorious Service Medals, nine Air Medals, three Aerial Achievement Medals, three Armed Forces Expeditionary Medals, the Humanitarian Service Medal, the Kuwait Liberation Medal from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Kuwait Liberation Medal from the Emirate of Kuwait. After retirement, he returned to the Air Force as a civilian, serving as the deputy chief of advanced programs. While there, he was directly responsible for ensuring leading-edge technologies and ideas were integrated into the training and preparation of senior level Air Force personnel. He advised several general officers on their plans for the continuing Global War on Terrorism. He was posthumously awarded the Exemplary Civilian Service Award, which is given for outstanding service in support of the unit missions and goals. He was a member of the Grandfield Masonic Lodge.
Survivors include a daughter, Danea Michelle Phillips, Pauls Valley; his mother, Ruby Phillips, Faxon; a brother and sister-in-law, Col. Michael D. and Mendy Phillips, West Point, N.Y.; a sister and brother-in-law, Polly Belle and Jerry Krasser, Faxon; two nieces: Lindsey K. Krasser, Faxon and Virginia Phillips, both of West Point; a nephew, James Michael Phillips, West Point; and many other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his father, James Eddie Phillips.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Cameron University
Foundation, Inc.,
Phillips Lectureship, 2800 West Gore Blvd., Lawton 73505.
Sympathy cards may be sent to the family online at www.beckerfuneral.com
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