Captain Dean K. Phillips

7 June 1943 – 22 August 1985

Who he was

From December 1967 to November 1968, Dean K. Phillips served with bravery and distinction in the 101st Airborne Division in South Vietnam.

Afterward, as a member of the Army Reserve 11th Special Forces Group at Fort Meade, he shared his combat experience and leadership with a new generation of soldiers.

He became an early advocate for Vietnam veteran health and economic issues. He was responsible for the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, and was instrumental in obtaining federal government approval for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial — The Wall that chapter members now gather at every Memorial Day.

Transcribed from the bronze plaque at the Captain Dean K. Phillips Parachute Drop Zone, Fort Meade, Maryland, commissioned by this chapter.

A bronze plaque set in stone reading: Captain Dean K. Phillips Parachute Drop Zone, born June 7 1943, died August 22 1985, followed by his service with the 101st Airborne Division and his work on veterans legislation and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. — The plaque at the drop zone that bears his name.

The drop zone, and the plaque

A former parachute drop zone at Fort Meade, Maryland is dedicated to Captain Phillips. The land is now part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Patuxent Research Refuge — North Tract.

In response to questions about who Captain Phillips was, a park volunteer searched the internet and found the chapter’s website. After an email inquiry, Len Ignatowski and Joe Celesnik went to inspect the drop zone and found a deteriorated plaque. The chapter voted to fund its renovation.

Environmental and park regulations meant replacing the damaged, corroding original with a larger bronze plaque, carrying more personal information about the man it honored. Special thanks went to Alex Bigler, a retired Marine officer and owner of the National Trust Foundry, who took a personal interest in the inscription and the casting.

Len Ignatowski and Joe Celesnik — both Vietnam War veterans — installed the new plaque on 26 August 2006. Diane Ignatowski and Sharon Celesnik of the chapter’s AVVA, and Esther Woodworth, a refuge volunteer, were also there.

Two men kneeling on either side of the newly installed Dean K. Phillips plaque beneath a tree at the drop zone, with a small American flag planted in the grass in front of it. — Len Ignatowski and Joe Celesnik at the newly installed plaque, 26 August 2006. Photograph courtesy of the chapter.

Ms. Helen Phillips, Captain Phillips’s mother, telephoned Len Ignatowski to express her sincere appreciation for the new plaque, and for the photographs of it and of the memorial site that were sent to her.

The plaque installation fulfills our commitment to “Never Again Will One Generation of Veterans Abandon Another.”