NAME: Phillip David McNeill
PLACE OF BIRTH: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky
DATE OF BIRTH: 30 Apr 1984
HOMETOWN: Sunrise, FL
DATES OF SERVICE: ?? ??? ???? - 20 Jan 2007
UNIT ASSIGNED: 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division
CAMPAIGNS: Operation Iraqi Freedom
AWARDS: Parachutist Badge, Combat Medic Badge, National Defense Service Medal, OIF Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon
SUMMARY OF SERVICE:
He grew up in Lexington, Ky., and Cincinnati before moving to South Florida as a teenager and later lived in Louisville, Ky.
2002 - J.P. Taravella High School in Coral Springs, FL
Army Sergeant Phillip D. McNeill, 22, had it planned out. He'd return from Iraq in April and propose to his high school sweetheart, Cassandra Burress, of Coral Springs. The couple would celebrate with his parents.
20 Jan 2007 - McNeill, died when a bomb exploded close to his Humvee near Karmah, Iraq. McNeill served as a combat medic in the 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division. Three other soldiers died and one was seriously injured.
"He was my soul mate," said Burress, 21. "We had dated on and off since we were 15."
He was a voracious reader who adored classics, such as Crime and Punishment, as much as children's books like the Harry Potter series. He taught himself to play the guitar, reveled in Metallica music, and helped raise money for Kids in Distress Inc. When he was a child, he regularly visited his grandmother in Owingsville, Ky. Always a lover of the outdoors, Phillip was fascinated by the rural setting, especially the large pine tree on the side of his grandmother's house. He loved climbing the tree and snacking on peanut butter sandwiches while sitting on its branches. He also loved wading through a nearby creek in search of snakes, wanting to be a herpetologist at one time because of his love for snakes.
His older brother, Chris, served in the U.S. Marine Corps for five years and was deployed in Iraq and his grandfather, Jesse McNeill, was an Air Force colonel.
Phillip was a medic, and had just been promoted to sergeant. He was 22.
SGT Phillip D. McNeill is buried at Owingsville Cemetery, Owingsville, Bath County, Kentucky
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