Dr. Phillip Ikins Passes

Well, I just got word this morning that Uncle Phillip died sometime in the past couple of days. I have been unable to get in touch with Aunt Marion and Laura in Krum, Texas but I'm sure I will. I was able to see Uncle Phil before I left for Australia and I'm glad I did. He was well taken care of. I gave him a copy of the photograph (my sister Cindy took a black and white print and had it tinted) below of the four Ikins brothers just before WWII (L-R: Phillip, William - died in 1944, Thomas - my Dad, who died in 1979, and James, who died in 1984). They're all gone now. Uncle Phil was the last to die of 8 siblings and was also the youngest.

When I talk to the older people in Clinton, Ohio, they all said that Uncle Phil was very smart and was expected to go on to great things, which he did. He became an internationally recognized thoracic surgeon. If you google his name you'll see the evidence in the medical journal articles and the citations of his work.

This photo was clearly taken in the side yard of the house on Main street in Clinton, Ohio because I recognize the buildings in the background.

What many of us may not have known is that he also saw a great deal of combat in WWII. He was a Sergeant in B Company, 271st Infantry Regiment, 69th Infantry Division. He was wounded at the Battle of the Bulge, received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart, then was given a battlefield commission to Second Lieutenant, after which he was transferred to A Company in the same regiment. The 69th was the unit that linked up with the Russians in Germany. I found a copy of the 69th's newsletter from 1992 on the internet and the information is all in there. In fact, Uncle Phil had even written to the newsletter to identify himself in a photograph from the previous newsletter. I know in my Dad's letters to Grandma, most of which I have, even while he was in the Army, Dad worried about his younger brother and once Phil was in the Army as well, worried even more. I would say that in almost every letter Dad wrote Grandma he asks about Phil.

According to the newsletter the 69th's accomplishments included:

FIGHTING 69th BOX SCORE:
• Distance Covered in Combat ... 400 miles
• Towns captured ... more than 1000, including the great city of Leipzig
• German prisoners taken 35,000
• Allied Prisoners Freed ... over 26,500
• Foreign Slaves Liberated ... many thousands
• In addition, the 69th overran one-third of the Nazi's toxic gas supply.

I always remember him as a very sophisticated and intelligent man. I also thought he and Aunt Marion were pretty glamorous. I remember them speeding up to a family gathering in Clinton in a little red sports car (I must have been 10 or so, around 1970).

He also brought back from a trip to England hand-painted "Britain's Limited" toy lead "soldier" sets for both my brother Jim and I; we both still have them - Jim got the "Robin Hood" set and I got the "English Foxhunt" set. I thought that was pretty posh.

So Rest In Peace, Uncle Phil; you certainly didn't have a boring life. And you and Aunt Marion brought two highly accomplished children in their own right, Bill and Laura, into the world. I'm sure that you and Bill and everyone else that's gone are having an interesting conversation right now.