There are 32 Gold Star soldiers name engraved upon the Memorial Wall on the corner of W. Commercial and S. Poplar St., in Monterey. During our research, the Monterey Depot Museum has discovered at least three more who paid the supreme sacrifice for our freedom.
CPL. MATTHEW B. PHILLIPS
Matthew B. Phillips died July 13, 2008, of wounds sustained when his outpost was attacked by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades from enemy forces in Wanat, Afghanistan. Several other brave soldiers assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Vicenza, Italy, were also killed.
Cpl. Phillips grew up in Monterey, as his dad, Mike, was working as a USDA inspector at the Fast Food Merchandisers plant. The family moved to Georgia. His family moved to Monterey when he was just three years old and moved by the time he had turned eight. However, Phillips would return to Monterey on summer vacation and spend countless hours riding his bike around town with friends. He loved Bacon, Egg and Cheese biscuits from Hardees and Papa Don Pizza. Phillips was an active member in Monterey First Baptist’s Royal Ranger program. He told friends that he would like to move back to Monterey after his military service had ended.
The young warrior had served 2 ½ years, during which time he was deployed to Afghanistan for 14 months. While in the U.S. Army, Phillips was the recipient of the Bronze Star medal with one bronze oak leaf. He also had received the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantry Badge, the Army Achievement Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with 1 Bronze Star, the GWOT (Global War on Terror) Medal, the Army Service Medal, the Army Overseas Ribbon and the NATO Medal.
Born April 13, 1981, in Florence, Ala., Cpl. Phillips was preceded in death by his mother, Freida Lynn Phillips.
At the time of his death, survivors include his wife, Eve Lamb Phillips; father and step-mother, Michael Britten and Ellen Phillips; a sister and brother-in-law, Mary Phillips and Perry S. Nix of San Antonio, TX; grandparents, William Britten and Betty Jean Phillips, Fred Lee and Barbara Ann Cochran, all of Altoona, Ala.; a nephew, Matthew Andrew Nix; step-brothers, Spec. Dan Click and Spc… Michael Click. Numerous aunts, uncles and cousins also survive.
M/M 2nd CLASS ROBERT TAYLOR PARROT, JR.
Robert Taylor Parrott Jr. was the first of nine children of Robert T. Sr. and Delma Ann Adams Parrott. His father was a Monterey native but raised his family in Cookeville, working at a lumber mill.
Parrott enlisted on Jan. 21, 1942, and assigned to the USS Hull (DD-350), The young machinist mate, second class had just returned home on leave for a few days in Oct. 1944. Happy to see family and friends, it was a time to relax and forget about the horror of the war in the Pacific. Parrott even got to play a few football games with his former classmates in Cookeville.
After heading back to his ship, the USS Hull was a part of flotilla that was supporting Gen. Douglas McAuthur’s invasion of the Philippines. On Dec. 18, 1944, the US 3rd fleet faced an enemy much worse than the Japanese head on. Typhoon Cobra hit the task force while many of the ships were attempting to refuel. Three destroyers capsized while a cruiser, five aircraft carriers and three long-endurance warships suffered severe damage. Parrott was killed when the ship sank in the Philippine Sea on that day. Approximately 790 officers and men were lost or killed, with another 80 injured.
A monument at Fort William Mckinley, Manila, the Philippines bears his and the others killed in service of their country.
PVT. WALTER EARNEST SWACK
The second child out of ten, born to A.J. and Nancy Elizabeth “Bettie” McDaniel Swack, Walter Earnest Swack was born on March 16, 1887. Swack grew up on a farm just in Overton County, on Monterey Road. By 1910, the 23-year-old Walter was working as a local mechanic.
It was not long before he grew tired of county life and, as others were doing, headed north to find a better life. He had heard about working in Ohio and headed that way. He soon found work at the C.H. & D. Restaurant, in Lima, OH.
President Woodrow Wilson tried to keep the nation out of Great War but was not to be. Walter signed up for the draft at the local board, in Lima, OH and listed the restaurant, where he worked as his mailing address, on June 4, 1917. It was not long before the brown-haired, blue-eyed young man’s number was called. He entered the Provisional Army a little over a year later, on July 14, 1918, in Lima, OH.
From there, it was a quick procession. The 31-year-old Swack was placed as a Private in Co. F, 3rd Provisional Regiment, 156the Depot until Aug. 2, 1918; assigned to Battery C, 13th Battalion, 5th Regiment Field Artillery in August Replacement Draft Camp Jackson, in Columbia, SC Summary Court; and finally, to Battery 4 at Camp Jackson Summary Court Sept. Replacement Draft, American Expeditionary Force.
Soon, Pvt. Swack and his fellow soldiers loaded onto the USS Ticonderoga heading across the Atlantic Ocean to France, to help defeat Germany and end the Great War. The “war to end all wars.” The steamship was around 1,700 miles off the Atlantic shore when it was attacked by a German submarine.
The USS Ticonderoga was surprise attacked by German U-152, on Sept. 30, 1918. The attack came when the steamship fell behind its convoy, because of engine trouble. The German submarine was not spotted until it had fired a torpedo into the side of the ship. The torpedo did not hit a vital part of the ship which was ordered to full steam. The commander of the USS Ticonderoga, U.S. Navy Lt. Commander James J. Madison was severely wounded at the start of the battle by shrapnel but stayed on deck. The Lt. Commander survived four days on a life raft, though losing a lot of blood. Only 24 survivors were left to tell what happened. Around 230 sailors and soldiers, including Swack, were killed. Swack’s body was lost at sea.
Lt. Commander Madison received the Medal of Honor for his actions. The loss of life was reported as the largest loss of life on any ship during World War I.
While Pvt. Walter Earnest Swack’s body was never recovered, his name is still honored on a memorial at Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial, Suresnes, France.
