Phillip Ireland

Phillip Earl Ireland (Dec. 17, 1942 – May 21, 1967) was a soldier from Scott County killed in the Vietnam War.

See Also: Scott Countians killed in war

Biography

Born Dec. 17, 1942, Phillip E. Ireland was the son of Herbert E. Ireland (1903-1965) and Bessie Covey (1905-1987). His siblings included Hazel Willis (1924-1978), Frederic E. Ireland (1928-2015), Nelson Leroy Ireland (1930-2019) and John Samuel Ireland (1935-2010).

He married Bernice Mills, and they had a daughter: Mary Ann.

The Ireland family was from the Easton, Mary. area, which is where Phillip was born. He graduated from Easton High School in 1962. However, he married Bernice Mills in Scott County on Dec. 31, 1965. She was from the Brimstone area, and was the daughter of Carlos Mills (1905-1999) and Hazel Oma Sexton (1921-1999).

Vietnam War

SP4 Ireland enlisted in the U.S. Army on Jan. 10, 1967 and was assigned to K Troop, 3rd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry. He was killed in the Long Khanh province in South Vietnam on May 21, 1967.

Aftermath

SP4 Ireland’s body was returned to the U.S. and he was buried at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Easton, Mary.

He received the Purple Heart. He is listed on the VFW Post 5669 Memorial Wall in Oneida, the Scott County Veterans Memorial in Huntsville, the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial in Knoxville, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Bernice continued to live in Scott County, residing in the Pentecost area east of Oneida. She remarried to Roger Keeton. She was killed in 1983 at the age of 37 when an elevator at her brother’s home near Clinton, Tenn. descended onto her as she worked on it.