James Phillips

James Edward Phillips (June 28, 1923 – Sept. 12, 1944) was a soldier from Helenwood killed in action in France during World War II.

See Also: Scott Countians killed in war

Biography

Born June 28, 1923, James E. Phillips was the son of Emily “Emma” Phillips. His siblings included brother Monroe Phillips (1933-1998). He may have had a sister named Elvida. Monroe’s father appears to have been Haywood W. Sexton (1896-1980). It’s not clear whether he was James’ father.

James was descended from Revolutionary War veterans Abraham Goad and Tobias Phillips. Tobias’s son, Thomas Phillips, married Mary Goad, the daughter of Abraham Goad, who moved to New River in present-day Scott County after the war. His mother was the daughter of Emanuel Phillips (1851-1914) and Pheriba Elizabeth Marcum (1857-1932). Emanuel was the son of Johnathin “John Egg” Phillips, and a great-grandson of both Abraham Goad and Tobias Phillips.

James’ family lived at Cherry Fork. When the 1930 census was taken, seven-year-old James and his mother lived with her mother, Pheriba Elizabeth Phillips, and several siblings.

When James registered for the draft in 1942, he listed his address as Helenwood.

He married Edrie Mae West on Dec. 26, 1942. She was the daughter of John D. West (1888-1960) and Angeline Phillips (1891-1970).

World War II

PFC Phillips enlisted in the U.S. Army on Feb. 17, 1943 at Fort Oglethorpe, Ga. He was assigned to the 15th Infantry, Co. E. He was killed in France on Sept. 12, 1944. No further information is available.

Aftermath

PFC Phillips’ body was returned to Scott County and he was buried at Cecil Cemetery in the Cherry Fork community, where his mother and several other members of his family are also buried.

Edrie remarried to Earnest P. Duncan on April 30, 1951, but they later divorced. She died in 2016 in Ohio.

For reasons unknown, PFC Phillips is not listed on either of the veterans memorials in Scott County or the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial in Knoxville.