| Sources |
- [S23] Atchley Funeral Home, (http://www.atchleyfuneralhome.com/), 3 Jul 2001.
Johnny O. Christopher obituary
- [S27] The Daily Times, http://www.thedailytimes.com/, (Blount County, Tennessee), 7 Jul 2005.
Sarah Milen obituary
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 12 Dec 2004.
Clyde Sutton obituary
- [S27] The Daily Times, http://www.thedailytimes.com/, (Blount County, Tennessee), 12 Jul 2008.
Paul E. Phillips obituary
- [S113] Manes Funeral Home, (http://www.manesfuneralhome.com), 25 Oct 2008.
John Lewis “Toot” Phillips, age 79, of Cosby, passed away, Saturday, October 25, 2008 at his home. He was a veteran having served in the U S Army during the Korean War. He was a prisoner of War for 33 ˝ months in Korea. He received two Purple Hearts and various other metals. He was preceded in death by his parents, Walter and Mae Shults Phillips; sister, Dorothy Milen; brothers, Wayne “Buster”, Walter “Sambo” and Paul Phillips; and grandson, John Patton Gregg. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Carrie Phillips, Cosby; daughters and sons-in-law, Diana and Steve Gregg, Carol and Gay Williamson, Debbie and Robert Ford, Charlene and Mickey Clark, Ginger and Jason Byrd, all of Cosby; sons and daughters-in-law, John and Rosie Phillips, Kenneth and Sherrie Phillips, Randy Phillips, Jamie and Sharla Phillips all of Cosby; sisters, Eula Freeman and friend George Bryant of Newport; Carrie McMillan, Lenoir, NC, Joyce Denton, Maryville; brothers and sisters-in-law, Phillip and Mildred Phillips, Maryville, Clarence and Janella Phillips, Maryville; several grandchildren; great grandchildren; and a host of other family and friends. Funeral services will be held 8:00 pm Monday, October 27, 2008 in Manes Funeral Home Chapel, with Rev. Scott Gorrell and Rev. William Clark officiating. Burial will be 10:00 am, Tuesday, October 28, 2008 in Phillips Cemetery with military honors. The family will receive friends from 6-8 pm at Monday at Manes Funeral Home prior to the funeral services.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 28 Oct 2008.
Cosby military hero to be buried today
COSBY-One of Cocke County's true military heroes will be laid to rest today amidst the beauty of the Cosby mountains he loved so well.
John Phillips, who survived nearly three years of brutal treatment as a prisoner of war during the Korean War, died Saturday morning at his Cosby home following a long period of declining health. He was 79.
Phillips' service to his country began when he was only 16 years old. At the time, his parents, the late Walter and Mae (Shults) Phillips, had moved their family from Cosby to Maryville.
In the autumn of 1945, the teenager lied about his age and attempted to enlist in the United States Army in Knoxville. However, recruiters there refused his application unless one of his parents gave permission.
In a 2006 interview with the Plain Talk, Phillips said that he returned to Maryville where he told his father what he wanted to do. Phillips remained adamant in his desire to enlist and the elder man finally relented.
Afterwards the Army discovered the teenager's lie, but only after he had turned 17 and he was allowed to remain in service.
Known to all as "Toot," Phillips served 18 months and afterwards joined his brother Buster working at American Enka.
Not liking the civilian life, the brothers decided to re-enlist, this time for three years. Sent to Japan, Phillips was stationed at Hachinoi. As time neared for his return to the States, Phillips looked forward to coming home to the Tennessee mountains.
However, one week prior to his deployment to America, trouble broke out in Korea and Phillips and his unit were sent there.
Almost immediately Phillips and his fellow soldiers found themselves under fire.
Under the direct command of General Douglas McArthur, they eventually marched to Seoul and the Thirty-Eighth Parallel.
On December 1, 1950, Phillips was one of 36 US soldiers captured during an attempt by the Allies to take Chosen Reservoir. He was 22 years old.
During the battle Phillips had been shot eight times, yet could still walk. As the only man in his group who was physically able, he was forced to help bury fellow soldiers who died during captivity. While performing these tasks, he managed to save their dog tags and, following his release, turned them over to his commander so that their families could be notified.
Existing on four boiled potatoes per day, Phillips managed to survive.
Meanwhile, his parents had been notified by telegram that their son had been killed in action. Eighteen months would pass before they knew otherwise, when the Korean government was forced to release the names of American prisoners.
"My mother heard my name read over the radio and ran all the way to the Maryville police station to tell my father that I was alive," Phillips later recalled.
Moved to another camp next to the Yellow River near China, Phillips spent 14 months there. Once he and two other prisoners managed to escape and remained free for nine days. "We'd a-got away if we'd had a compass," he said.
After their re-capture, the prisoners were kept in "rabbit cages" for thirty days. "These were huts we had to crawl into on our bellies. We had to lie flat on the ground. There was no room for any movement at all," Phillips said.
Tried before a Chinese general, Phillips was sentenced to a year's hard labor, which included such orders as capturing 5,000 flies and putting them in jars.
After rescuing an elderly woman from drowning, Phillips was rewarded by having his sentence commuted.
On September 1, 1953, Phillips walked across the bridge to freedom as part of a prisoner exchange. After receiving treatment for the wounds he had suffered three years earlier, he was sent to San Francisco to complete additional paperwork, after which he boarded a train for Knoxville.
Upon his arrival in Knoxville, he boarded a bus to Maryville and simply walked to the nearby police station. After learning that his father wasn't working that day, Phillips was driven home by his dad's co-workers.
The returning hero weighed 115 pounds, over 100 pounds less than he had when he re-enlisted.
Within six weeks, he married Carrie Sutton, an 18-year-old Cosby beauty. His uncle, Cosby storeowner and longtime county court member Tommy Phillips, performed the ceremony on October 24, 1953.
The couple became the parents of nine children, who, along with their mother, survive.
For his service and sacrifice, Phillips, who ended his military career as a SGT First Class, received the following medals and commendations: two POW medals, a combat badge with Bronze Star, two Purple Hearts, and various ribbons denoting his time in Japan, Korea, and North Korea.
Funeral services for Phillips were held last evening in Manes Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Scott Gorrell and Rev. Williams Clark officiating. Burial was at 10 o'clock this morning in the Phillips Cemetery.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 7 Nov 2008.
Trail Hollow News
Author: Vivian Barnes
...
All were saddened to hear of the passing away of our POW Hero Mr. John “Toot” Phillips, who is our neighbor across the hill on Groundhog Rd. I wasn’t able to get down there but my heart, prayers and tears were with them all. I have thought of them over and over and know they are going through the same thing we are. No, things will never be the same in their life and home again. The pain seems too much to bear sometimes but we do have a very wonderful comforter and he really is the only one who can really help. I know all the children and his wife but I don’t know the sisters and brothers. But I sure can relate to their pain to because I have lots 4 brothers and our age and grief through multiple times doesn’t make it easier, does it? It only confirms the reality that we can do nothing about it because it’s life but we wonder how we will make it through such grief. The older we get, the more those sisters and brother and all the wonderful memories of mom and dad and all of friends we grew up with means to us.
I feel like I know John “Toots” family because I talk to Susie quite often since she cuts our hair and more that that she is a dear friend. I always ask about her mom and dad. She tells me about her dad’s family in Maryville and around here too, especially if anyone is sick. I also have a cousin married to one of his brothers. I can remember as a girl how pretty Mildred and Wilma Coggins were. They are the daughters of the late Ethel Hall Coggins and her husband Fate. Ethel was a sister to Willie, Charlie and Morris Hall, who I grew up around. They are all our relatives and we love all of them dearly. So many have departed this life but are sadly missed. Just the other day my sister Iva Lee and I were talking about them. She said someone told her Earl Coggins comes to the decoration over at Black’s and she would like to go see him. I would too and I haven’t seen patsy in years either. If anyone reads this, tell them all hello for us and no one is forgotten.
...
- [S1] U. S. Social Security Death Index, 415-44-0611.
Issued in Tennessee, residing in Cosby, Cocke County, Tennessee
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