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Robert Paul Phillips

Pvt Phillips of the United States Army was born July 31 1949 in Quincy Maryland. He later in his life moved to Sylvania Ohio. This heroic man was enlisted in the time of the Vietnam War. He was assigned to the 595th Signal Company, 36th Signal Battalion, 2nd Signal Group, 1st Signal Brigade.

June 23rd 1970 at 1100 hours SFC Joe P. Pederson, supply seargent, SPC James M. Rozo, armor, and Pvt Phillips, unit supply specialist, all from the same unit left from the Lai Khe Signal site for the phuoc Vinh Signal site in a GMC  2 1/2 ton vehicle on a supply mission. These brave men were updating clothing records, retrieving excess equipment, adjusting receipts and inventorying weapons of two outlying subunits attached to the 595th Signal Company.

Before leaving the Lai Khe site SFC Pederson was informed by three separate personnel to follow the "new Phuoc Vinh road". The reason for this small detour was for the fact that the "cutoff to Ben Cat" was closed to all traffic for two reasons, it was reported to be mined, and was a high probability of ambush.

At 1530 hours on that same day the truck used by the three soldiers was discovered by ARVN Mobile Assistance team 33 elements in a ditch along provincial highway 7B in Binh Duong Providence, South Vietnam. The engine was still running. reports indicate that the vehicle had no major damage other than  a blown tire and the front two windshields were shattered . Inside the vehicle were assorted signal equipment and supply records, but no personnel were found in the immediate area. A search party later discovered one dead Viet Cong and the three brave soldiers jammed. They then believed that the men had been ambushed and further surrendered to the enemy.

September of that same year, a Viet Cong was captured who told the story of the ambush and also reported that one man (SFC Pederson) was killed and buried near the location of the incident. the other two were told to be captured. The following day, the company commander of the 595th inspected the vehicle driven by these three men. They found 12 small caliber bullet holes, left front tire shattered, a small hole in the canvas top, and small metal objects in the cab. However, there were no indications of blood.

Initially, the three men were listed MIA (missing in action) while the government took 15 years to determine the validity of the Viet Cong's story. Next, in November 1971, a captured Viet Cong told interrogators he had seen two POW's being evacuated from South Vietnam into Cambodia. His description of the two men fit that of Phillips and Rozos, which was described as tired but healthy. The status of those two men quickly changed to POW's but Pederson was maintained as MIA.

In 1973. 591 Americans were returned home. Rozo, Phillips and Pederson were not among them and returned POW's were unable to provide any information on their fate. When asked about these three soldiers the Vietnamese denied any knowledge of them. The Joint Resolution Center field investigators in Vietnam have located witnesses to the imprisonment of the three Americans. Two were in captivity when they reportedly attempted to escape from a jungle prison and were killed by mines in the vicinity. Classified follow up reports in 1989 declare that the three men have been officially declared "presumed dead"

Hope soon arrives on the home front in October of 1985. The parents of James M Rozo had been informed that their son escaped and was never recaptured but his whereabouts are unknown. His parents were understandably disturbed that it took the US Government 12 years to tell them this small note of faith and are now wondering what additional information remains hidden from them under the blanket of "CLASSIFIED". They still wonder if their son is one of the many said to be still alive in captivity in Southeast Asia.

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