Posted on 05/18/2003 12:34:56 AM PDT by Schakaljager
"It was like hanging out with an old buddy."
That's how Kane native Lt. Ryan Phillips describes his three-hour side-by-side experience with President George W. Bush, who addressed the nation Thursday from the USS Abraham Lincoln.
Phillips, a 1994 graduate of Kane Area High School, sat directly behind the President in the four-man Navy S-3B Viking combat jet that landed on the deck of the giant aircraft carrier. Phillips, the son of Ray and Polly Phillips of 405 W. Hemlock Ave., Kane, had the duty of helping the President don his flight suit and escorting him to the plane for the flight from San Diego to the carrier.
"The President is a very personable guy," Phillips told the Kane Republican this morning from his apartment in San Diego. "I was never uncomfortable in his presence. He's very easy to talk with. He told us a couple of jokes. He told us how proud he was."
Phillips, who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1998, received his wings as a Naval pilot in 1999. He has been with the VS-35 Blue Wolves Squadron since 2001. The squadron is attached to the carrier Abraham Lincoln, which was due back in port in San Diego today after a 10-month deployment, mostly in the Persian Gulf. Phillips said the deployment is the longest for any nuclear-powered Navy carrier. The Abraham Lincoln, with 5,000 sailors and aviators aboard, was the "keystone" of the U.S. fleet in the Persian Gulf for the Iraqi War. Phllips said he flew 30 missions during the war.
The Navy selected Phillips to be part of the crew to fly the President to the carrier for the historic occasion and flew him from the carrier to San Diego last weekend. "The White House wanted us to have time to relax," Phillips said. He said there were several preparatory meetings "basically to make sure we didn't screw up."
Phillips, 26, said it was both "exciting and terrifying" to be selected for the honor of walking the President to the combat jet for the half hour flight to the carrier Thursday. Getting "up close and personal," he helped the President dress in a flight suit and helped him strap on his communication gear. "I was as a close to the President as you could get," Phillips said.
He said he was with the President for 90 minutes before the flight and for another hour while on the carrier. Phillips sat right behind the President on the jet and adjacent to a Secret Service agent. The President sat in the right front seat adjacent to the pilot and for 15 minutes took over the controls of the plane, Phillips said. "He did a great job," Phillips said in describing the President's time flying the jet. He said the President carried on a conversation with himself and the pilot during the entire flight to the carrier. "He asked us a lot of questions about aviation," Phillips said.
The jet landed without a problem on the carrier, making a screeching stop when it was snagged by a cable stretched across the deck.
"The President asked me where Kane was," Phillips said in describing their conversation. "I told him like I tell everyone else-- 'near Pittsburgh.'"
Phillips, who is single and lives in San Diego, had the opportunity to see Air Force One land Thursday to bring the President to the Naval Air Station for the flight to the carrier, which was at sea and headed home. When he saw Air Force One, Phillips said "I was a little nervous." "I knew there was no turning back," he said.
Phillips told the Republican that he has been up most of the night giving interviews to the news media. He was on national television as a guest on both CBS Morning News and CNN, he said.
Phillips said he plans to return home to Kane next month while on leave.
Phillips' mother, Polly is a seventh grade teacher at the Kane Middle School. His father, Ray Phillips Jr. is a retired driver for United Parcel Service (UPS). His brother is Rory Phillips, a junior at Grove City College.
Phillips is the grandson of Celeste Phillips of 411 W. Hemlock Ave., Kane, and the late Ray Phillips Sr. His maternal grandmother is Mary Lou (George) Gigliotti of Bradford and his maternal grandfather is Eugene (Joan) Rote of Duke Center.
"I couldn't be happier," Phillips' mother told the Republican today in describing her son's honor. She and her husband flew to San Diego Thursday as they planned to greet their son after his 10-month tour of duty on the Abraham Lincoln. They expected to be greeting their son as he stepped from the carrier. For security reasons, they weren't told all the details of their son's "mission" with the President. The Phillips saw their son with the President on television during a flight layover in Phoenix. When they arrived in San Diego, they were able to go to the Naval Air Station to greet their son on his return from his duty with the President.
"We've always been proud of our son," Mrs. Phillips said. She and her husband plan to return home Sunday.
Seeing her grandson on television with the President was an early birthday present for Celeste Phillips, who will celebrate her 90th birthday May 19.
"It was very exciting," she said. "I had a hard time getting to sleep last night."
Ryan called his paternal grandmother last weekend and told her he was being flown from the carrier to San Diego. "I told him 'too bad you're going to miss the President,'" Celeste said. "Ryan said 'Oh, I'll be seeing him.'" Now she understands what he meant.
It's a tiny little town with a very small employment base (the magnet factory is about it) and a big tradition of military service.
Haven't been down there in quite a few years now, but I have very fond memopries of the place.
Actually, it was Phillips, who is from Kane. You should consider a refresher course in reading comprehension.
"Phillips, the son of Ray and Polly Phillips of 405 W. Hemlock Ave., Kane, had the duty of helping the President"
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