James D. Phillips

Captain James D. Phillips was commissioned an Infantry Officer upon graduation from Officer Candidate School, 14 January 1944. His first duty assignment was as a Recon Platoon Leader, 275th Infantry Regiment, 70th Infantry Division, Camp Adair, Oregon. | His subsequent duty assignments include: 2nd Platoon Leader, Company I, 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 17th Airborne Division, Operations Officer, HHC, 3rd Battalion, 321st Regiment, 81st Division, USAR, Lumberton North Carolina; Rifle Company Commander, 30th Infantry Division, North Carolina National Guard and Battalion S3, 30th Infantry Division, North Carolina National Guard. | As a Parachute Infantry Platoon Leader with the 17th Airborne Division, Captain Phillips served in the Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe Campaigns. His experience in the Ardennes Battle of the Bulge in January, 1945 is recounted in the book Citizen Soldiers by Stephen Ambrose. His regiment served as the spearhead unit in the Operation Varsity combat parachute jump across the Rhine River in April, 1945. He was wounded during this operation and eventually evacuated back to the United States. | James Dickson Phillips, Jr. graduated from the Davidson College ROTC program, Infantry Officer Candidate School and the Parachute School. He attended Law School while later serving in the Army Reserve. He served as a civilian attorney in North Carolina and later served as the Dean of the University of North Carolina Law School from 1964-1974. In 1978 he was appointed by the President of the United States as a United States Circuit Judge on the Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Richmond, Virginia. He actively served from 1978 to 1999. | His military awards include: Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Bronze Arrowhead, Combat Infantryman’s Badge and Parachutist Badge with Combat Star.