Army Spc. Phillips was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Air Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He died from wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. Micheal graduated in 2006 from Ardmore High School in Ardmore, Oklahoma and enlisted in the Army immediately. While in school, he was outstanding on the football field as well as in the classroom. He loved history and ran track and cross country and had been offered admission to the San Francisco Art Institute, but he loved the military and wanted to protect his country against terrorists. While still a little boy, he had told his parents he wanted to be GI Joe when he grew up. When he would come home on leave, he would visit students at his former school who wrote letters to him while he was deployed. A few months before he shipped out to Iraq, he dropped by the school to show his teachers and coach his uniform – he was so proud to serve his country. Fellow soldiers remember Micheal as an excellent soldier who was always trying to improve himself and was always willing to go the extra mile. He was re-enlisting to join for two more years because he didn't want to leave his squad - his men.
Army Spc. Phillips was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Air Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He died from wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. Micheal graduated in 2006 from Ardmore High School in Ardmore, Oklahoma and enlisted in the Army immediately. While in school, he was outstanding on the football field as well as in the classroom. He loved history and ran track and cross country and had been offered admission to the San Francisco Art Institute, but he loved the military and wanted to protect his country against terrorists. While still a little boy, he had told his parents he wanted to be GI Joe when he grew up. When he would come home on leave, he would visit students at his former school who wrote letters to him while he was deployed. A few months before he shipped out to Iraq, he dropped by the school to show his teachers and coach his uniform – he was so proud to serve his country. Fellow soldiers remember Micheal as an excellent soldier who was always trying to improve himself and was always willing to go the extra mile. He was re-enlisting to join for two more years because he didn't want to leave his squad - his men.
