Franklin J. Phillips from McKeesport, Pa., a determined young man who loved his country, signed on for three years with the Army on March 26, 1895. He excelled during his first enlistment. He was sent to Fort Reno in the Oklahoma Territory to join the first Infantry Division as it prepared to invade Cuba. They made the first amphibious landing of the Spanish American War and were the first to engage the Spanish. The battles raged all the way to San Juan Hill and culminated with the surrender of Santiago de Cuba in July 1898.
Phillips returned victorious with his unit to Camp A.G. Forse in Alabama. He also returned sick with malarial fever. As his outfit prepared to return to Cuba for occupation, Phillips asked for sick leave and returned to McKeesport for treatment. The Army said no. He decided to go anyway. For this action, he received a "discharge without honor" on March 16, 1899.
More than a year late, beyond the ancient royal city of Peking, China, a grassroots nationalist movement had snowballed into the Boxer Rebellion. The Boxers moved from countryside into the cities leaving a bloody trail in their wake.
On June 20, 1900, in Peking, 50 Marines, including Pvt. Harry Fisher, braced themselves for an onslaught by the hordes of Chinese militants. The siege lasted 55 days before a larger relief force arrived. Fisher however, was killed on July 16 during battle, earning the Medal of Honor for his bravery.
His mother asked only one thing of the Marine Corps, but her request was rejected at the at time and on several other occasions. Finally, in 1988, 90 years later, at the urging of family members and other, Fishers mother's request was granted. Her son's Medal of Honor would bear his real name: Franklin J. Phillips.
We have young men and women today who are just as determined to serve their country as Franklin Phillips. They too love their country and are risking their health and lives for The cause of freedom.
They are doing this for us and we should not forget them. Keep them in your prayers.
Charles R. Pearson
Chaplain American Legion Post #375 in Malvern
Comments