Date of birth:

March 9th, 1918 (Denver, Colorado, U.S.)

Date of death:

August 27th, 2023 (Highlands Ranch, Colorado, U.S.)

Service number:

O-22939

Nationality:

American (1776 - present, Republic)

He was born in Denver, Colorado on March 9, 1918, the son of Floyd E. Phillips and Josephine Scureman. He later attended Edison Grammar School, Skinner Junior High School, and North High School in Colorado. While in high school he worked for the Bureau of Biological Survey in a U.S. Customs house in downtown Denver. He then enrolled in the University of Denver on a one year scholarship and would later take the exam for West Point. He was appointed to the United States Military Academy by U.S. Senator Edward P. Costigan from Colorado on July 1, 1936.

He graduated from the academy in 1940 and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Field Artillery branch of the United States Army (ASN: O-22939). After graduation he attended the United States Army Field Artillery School and later served as a battery officer for the 18th Field Artillery Regiment.

In 1941 he served as a battery officer at Fort Stotsenburg on Luzon in the Philippine Islands. From 1941 to 1942 he served as an assistant to Chief of Staff, G-2 and later G-3 for the Visayan Mindanao Force. In 1942 he served with the 24th Field Artillery Regiment and later moved up through staff and field positions while serving with the Visayan Mindanao Force.

On May 11, 1942, his unit surrendered to Japanese forces and he would spend the remainder of the war in POW camps in Mindanao, Luzon, Japan, Manchuria and Korea. As a prisoner of war he survived the sinking of two ships that were bombed by allied aircraft that were unaware that the ships were carrying prisoners. The last camp he was held in (the Hoten Camp) was liberated on August 20, 1945, by Soviet troops and a small OSS team.

He returned to the United States in 1945 and attended Officer Candidate school in Washington, D.C. He then attended the United States Army Field Artillery School for a second time joining the faculty in the gunnery department. He later attended the Command and General Staff College for three years and commanded the 27th Armored Field Artillery Battalion of the 1st Armored Division. From 1952 to 1954 he served in the civil affairs division of Headquarters, United States Army Europe. He then served as a personnel officer and plans officer (G-3) for the 2nd Armored Division and attended the Armed Forces Staff College, graduating in 1955. In the late 1950s he would serve as the action officer for the implementation of the 1958 DoD Reorganization Act, was assigned to the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, and then as special assistant and executive to the Director of the Joint Staff. He attended and graduated from the National War College in 1960 and then served as Deputy Commander of I Corps Artillery in Korea until 1961. He then served on the staff & faculty of the Air War College and would later attend George Washington University graduating in 1963 with a master's degree in international affairs. He then served in the office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Force Development as director of plans and programs from 1964 to 1966. He retired from the army in 1966.

Dates of Rank
*June 11, 1940: Second Lieutenant (RA)
*October 10, 1941: First Lieutenant (AUS)
*December 19, 1941: Captain (AUS)
*April 13, 1942: Major (AUS)
*June 11, 1943: First Lieutenant (RA)
*August 20, 1945: Lieutenant Colonel (AUS)
*July 15, 1948: Captain (RA)
*August 29, 1952: Major (RA)
*June 7, 1957: Colonel (AUS)
*June 11, 1960: Lieutenant Colonel (RA)
*May 30, 1964: Brigadier General (AUS)
*June 11, 1965: Colonel (RA)
*June 1966: Brigadier General (retired)

From 1966 to 1968 and 1969 to 1971 he worked for the Research Analysis Corporation serving as a senior analyst and later assistant to the vice president of the company. From 1968 to 1969 and 1971 to 1979 he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. While in this position he also served as acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs in the years 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1977. He retired from government service in 1979 and was later awarded the Department of the Army Distinguished Civilian Service Award. From 1979 until around the late 1980s he worked as a manpower consultant in Denver.

He married Rita A. Ruzicka after graduation from West Point in June 1940 and they had three children together. She died in 1991.

He died on August 27, 2023, in Highlands Ranch, Colorado at the age of 105. His remains were cremated and his ashes were buried at Saint John's Episcopal Church Columbarium in Granby, Colorado.

Until his death he was the oldest living West Point graduate.

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Period:

Vietnam War (1955-1975)

Rank:

Brigadier General

Unit:

Director of Plans and Programs, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Force Development, United States Department of the Army (Director of Plans and Programs, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Force Development, United States Department of the Army)

Awarded on:

1966

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Brigadier General Paul David Phillips (ASN: 0-22939), United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility, during the period from June 1964 to May 1966.

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Major

Unit:

G-3 (Operations and Training) Section, Visayan Mindanao Force, U.S. Army (G-3 (Operations and Training) Section, Visayan Mindanao Force, U.S. Army)

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Major

Unit:

Visayan Mindanao Force, U.S. Army (Visayan Mindanao Force, U.S. Army)

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Major

Unit:

Visayan Mindanao Force, U.S. Army (Visayan Mindanao Force, U.S. Army)

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Major

Unit:

Visayan Mindanao Force, U.S. Army (Visayan Mindanao Force, U.S. Army)

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Major

Unit:

Visayan Mindanao Force, U.S. Army (Visayan Mindanao Force, U.S. Army)

Oak leaf cluster.

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Major

Was held as a prisoner of war by the Empire of Japan from May 11, 1942 until the camp he was in was liberated on August 20, 1945.

• Photo: United States Army (public domain)
• - Paul David Phillips Collection | Library of Congress
  - Grad News Archives - Page 4 of 49 - West Point Association of Graduates
  - Army Directory - Google Books
  - Biographical register of the officers and graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., from its establishment, in 1802 : (Supplement, volume IX 1940–1950), page 1047
  - Upgrading of discharges under special programs implemented by former President Gerald Ford and President Jimmy Carter : hearings before a select subcommittee of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-fifth Congress, first session (1977)
  - World War II Prisoners of War Data File, 12/7/1941 - 11/19/1946
  - Official register of the officers and cadets 1971 1971. - Full View | HathiTrust Digital Library
  - WPAOG Recognizes BG(R) Paul D. Phillips ’40 as the Newest Oldest Living West Point Graduate - West Point Association of Graduates
  - Hearings Before and Special Reports Made by Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives on Subjects Affecting the Naval and Military Establishments, Part 2 (1975)
  - Reorganization of the Department of Defense : hearings before the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate, Ninety-ninth Congress, first session, October 16; November 14, 19, 20, 21; December 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, (1985)
  - U.S. Army Registers (1941-1969)
  - Army research and development v.14-16 1973-1975. - Full View | HathiTrust Digital Library
  - Inadequate Methods Used to Account for and Recover Personnel Costs of the Foreign Military Sales Program Report to the Senate Committee on Armed Services, 1977
  - West Point Association of Graduates - Paul Phillips Memorial Page
  - West Point Association of Graduates
  - At 105, Colorado veteran is West Point’s oldest living graduate
  - West Point Magazine Spring 2023
  - Paul Phillips - Recipient -
  - U.S. Army Registers (1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1949, 1955, 1958, 1961, 1965, 1966, 1969)