Farewell & Walk with God, SSG Phillip Myers

Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers, from the 48th Civil Engineer Squadron at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, shown above receiving the Bronze Star Medal from Lt. Gen. Robert D. Bishop, 3rd Air Force commander, on March 19, 2008.

U.S. Air Force photo/Airman Perry Aston

Servicemembers and civilians deployed to International Security Assistance Force Regional Command-South gathered to pay final respects to a fallen Airman April 6 in the base chapel of Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. Staff Sgt. Phillip A. Myers, 30, was killed April 3 by an improvised explosive device while conducting military operations with the 755th Air Expeditionary Group Explosive Ordinance Disposal Operational Location Bravo near Musa Qal'eh in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan.

Those gathered at the service remembered Sergeant Myers for his humility as a leader. Capt. Robert Scott, the 755th AEG/EOD OL-B officer in charge, reflected on the former EOD team leader describing him as a "shining example of selfless leadership and heroism." "He was a man who took great care to educate team members," he said. "The impression he left people with was awe and he personified excellence and took great pride in his team's successes."

Sergeant Myers, who hailed from Hopewell, Va., was deployed from the 48th EOD Flight at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England. He was the recipient of the 2008 U.S. Air Force Lupia Civil Engineer NCO of the Year Award and was awarded a Bronze Star in 2008.

(Personal information about SSG Myers is scarce at this time. I will continue to look for it.)