Phillips, Billy Andle
Army Private

Billy Andle Phillips, age 18, from Johnston County North Carolina.

Parents: Bernice L. S. Phillips

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Wednesday, September 6, 1950
Death details: On September 6 and 7, 1950, elements of the 2nd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, launched attacks on a prominence called Hill 209 along the Naktong River in South Korea. The hill was held by strong enemy forces and the attacks were carried out in torrential rain. The U.S. troops were unable to take the hill under these conditions, and after suffering several casualties, pulled back. Renewed efforts later brought the area under American control, but by that time, the heavy rains had been continuing for days. The Naktong River had risen considerably and floodwaters were sufficient to cover up any recent graves in the area, impeding efforts to recover the remains of fallen soldiers. Private First Class Billy Andle Phillips, who entered the U.S. Army from North Carolina, served with F Company, 2nd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division and took part in the attacks on Hill 209. He went missing in action on September 6, 1950, when his company’s position was overrun by enemy forces near Am-Sin, South Korea. His remains could not be recovered in subsequent searches of the area and he was never reported as a prisoner of war. Today, Private First Class Phillips is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, which was updated in 2022 to include the names of the fallen.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, The Salisbury Post