thedrifter
11-11-08, 12:57 PM
November 11, 2008
Wounded Marine helps celebrate Corps' birthday
By Jenn Rowell
The Marine Corps celebrated its 233rd birthday Monday and honored one of their own -- Montgomery resident Sean Phillips.
Phillips was shot in the head by a sniper Nov. 17, 2004, while serving in Iraq.
As a result of his brain injury, Phillips, 25, developed aphasia, a partial or total inability to understand words and use language.
But in the last year, his vocabulary has nearly tripled, Phillips' father said.
"Marines are a proud group. They don't give up easy," Terry Phillips added.
Bill Burleson, head of the Marine Corps League in Montgomery, organized a party at Sean Phillips' favorite watering hole, Head on the Door on Vaughn Road.
For Sean Phillips, it was just another night of chatting with friends.
"I'm drinking beer, watching the news," he said. "It's pretty good."
He hadn't noticed the bar stool with a new nameplate on it, just for him.
When a friend pulled it over to show him, Phillips had a good laugh.
The staff and many patrons at the bar have military ties, "so he's found people to talk to that understand short sentences," Terry Phillips said. "It's a surprisingly nice fit for him, comfortable fit. It's a place where he feels welcome."
Sean Phillips, the youngest Marine in the room, cut the birthday cake with Burleson, the oldest, in Marine tradition.
Ron White, a friend of Phillips and Burleson, said the event was a fun way to bring generations of Marines and other service members together.
"We have a lot of veterans around here. You have younger vets like Sean and you have older vets like Bill. The bond is just as strong," the Army veteran said.
Ellie
Wounded Marine helps celebrate Corps' birthday
By Jenn Rowell
The Marine Corps celebrated its 233rd birthday Monday and honored one of their own -- Montgomery resident Sean Phillips.
Phillips was shot in the head by a sniper Nov. 17, 2004, while serving in Iraq.
As a result of his brain injury, Phillips, 25, developed aphasia, a partial or total inability to understand words and use language.
But in the last year, his vocabulary has nearly tripled, Phillips' father said.
"Marines are a proud group. They don't give up easy," Terry Phillips added.
Bill Burleson, head of the Marine Corps League in Montgomery, organized a party at Sean Phillips' favorite watering hole, Head on the Door on Vaughn Road.
For Sean Phillips, it was just another night of chatting with friends.
"I'm drinking beer, watching the news," he said. "It's pretty good."
He hadn't noticed the bar stool with a new nameplate on it, just for him.
When a friend pulled it over to show him, Phillips had a good laugh.
The staff and many patrons at the bar have military ties, "so he's found people to talk to that understand short sentences," Terry Phillips said. "It's a surprisingly nice fit for him, comfortable fit. It's a place where he feels welcome."
Sean Phillips, the youngest Marine in the room, cut the birthday cake with Burleson, the oldest, in Marine tradition.
Ron White, a friend of Phillips and Burleson, said the event was a fun way to bring generations of Marines and other service members together.
"We have a lot of veterans around here. You have younger vets like Sean and you have older vets like Bill. The bond is just as strong," the Army veteran said.
Ellie