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By Mass Communication Specialist Jacob Goff, USS George Washington Public Affairs
Edward Phillips stares into the distance, eyes squinted, pulling back memories from his time served in Vietnam.
“We started bombing with B-52 bombers,” said Phillips with slow, calculated words. “I was the only bomber controller and I launched all the aircraft. I would go out and launch 50, 60 bombers as fast as I could and they would go out, drop their bombs on the target and come back to do it again.”
Phillips was in charge of 554 bombers in Vietnam, working long days making sure the B-52s launched in good condition with the payloads they needed.
“We would work ‘til the job was done,” said Phillips. “It depended on what our mission was, but we always knew we were doing it for our country.”
His duty didn’t end there, though. When all the bombers were safely back at the airfield, he went to the officer’s club, where he worked after hours. “I had to keep all the pilots happy,” he said.
Phillips never liked idle hands. Even after 28 years in the Air Force, he held down two or three jobs at a time. He said the money was nice, but it was the work he loved. He was a nuclear inspector, he worked for the post office…
“He did anything that he could do,” said Larson. “He sold insurance, he did financial consulting with people.”
Work was his passion.
“I liked to show people the different types of jobs that were available,” said Phillips. There was more, but some of those memories were just out of reach. “It’s so far back now I can’t remember.”
Nearby in the room is Phillips’ son, David. He remembers his dad’s work ethic even as David Phillips and his two siblings were growing up.
“He’s a hard worker. He worked at least two jobs all his life,” said David Phillips. “He wasn’t ever afraid of a challenge.”
Edward Phillips passed the same work ethic on to his two sons and daughter.
“I was maybe ten or eleven and me and my brother delivered newspapers in the military housing,” said David Phillips. “The papers were so big that he would take us around in the car at five-thirty in the morning with a trunk full papers and we would run them to the doors of the houses. That was every Sunday.”
Edward Phillips has lived a life that exemplifies how to be successful.
“He’s come a long way – he’s done a lot of things,” said David Phillips. “He’s done well for his position and his responsibilities. He’s always succeeded and I’m proud of him for that.”
That’s the one lesson Edward Phillips wants to pass on. Hard work is the only surefire way to live a successful life. He never lived in mansions, he was never famous or in the national headlines, but he lived life to the fullest. He’s 84-years-old now and he has explored, travelled and followed his passions. He followed his own path, but he cut that path with hard work.
Edward Phillips turns his attention to his friends sitting with him around the table. He listens in on their conversations as a wave of contentment washes over his face.
Join the conversation with GW online at www.facebook.com/USSGW and www.twitter.com/GW_CVN73. For more news from USS George Washington, visit www. Navy.mil/local/cvn73/.
| Date Taken: | 05.16.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 12.30.2017 23:01 |
| Story ID: | 261013 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 13 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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