Sgt. Phillip D. McNeill of Sunrise, Fla. joined the military two years after graduating from J.P. Taravella High School in Coral Springs in 2002. He grew up in Lexington, Ky., and Cincinnati before moving to South Florida as a teenager and later lived in Louisville, Ky. He was a voracious reader who adored classics, such as Crime and Punishment, as much as children's books like the Harry Potter series. He taught himself to play the guitar, reveled in Metallica music, and helped raise money for Kids in Distress Inc. When he was a child, he regularly visited his grandmother in Owingsville, Ky. Always a lover of the outdoors, Phillip was fascinated by the rural setting, especially the large pine tree on the side of his grandmother's house. He loved climbing the tree and snacking on peanut butter sandwiches while sitting on its branches. He also loved wading through a nearby creek in search of snakes, wanting to be a herpetologist at one time because of his love for snakes. His older brother, Chris, served in the U.S. Marine Corps for five years and was deployed in Iraq and his grandfather, Jesse McNeill, was an Air Force colonel. Phillip was a medic, and had just been promoted to sergeant. He was 22.
Army
3rd Battalion
509th Infantry (Airborne)
4th Brigade Combat Team
25th Infantry Division
Fort Richardson, Alaska.
Army
3rd Battalion
509th Infantry (Airborne)
4th Brigade Combat Team
25th Infantry Division
Fort Richardson, Alaska.
Sgt. Phillip D. McNeill of Sunrise, Fla. joined the military two years after graduating from J.P. Taravella High School in Coral Springs in 2002. He grew up in Lexington, Ky., and Cincinnati before moving to South Florida as a teenager and later lived in Louisville, Ky. He was a voracious reader who adored classics, such as Crime and Punishment, as much as children's books like the Harry Potter series. He taught himself to play the guitar, reveled in Metallica music, and helped raise money for Kids in Distress Inc. When he was a child, he regularly visited his grandmother in Owingsville, Ky. Always a lover of the outdoors, Phillip was fascinated by the rural setting, especially the large pine tree on the side of his grandmother's house. He loved climbing the tree and snacking on peanut butter sandwiches while sitting on its branches. He also loved wading through a nearby creek in search of snakes, wanting to be a herpetologist at one time because of his love for snakes. His older brother, Chris, served in the U.S. Marine Corps for five years and was deployed in Iraq and his grandfather, Jesse McNeill, was an Air Force colonel. Phillip was a medic, and had just been promoted to sergeant. He was 22.
Army
3rd Battalion
509th Infantry (Airborne)
4th Brigade Combat Team
25th Infantry Division
Fort Richardson, Alaska.
Army
3rd Battalion
509th Infantry (Airborne)
4th Brigade Combat Team
25th Infantry Division
Fort Richardson, Alaska.
