1st Battalion 22nd Infantry Issac Phillips

Isaac C. Phillips, better known as Curtis, served with Company D of the 22nd Infantry
in World War II. After the war he married and settled down in Belgium.
The 1st Battalion website was contacted by Xavier Van Daele, a Belgian citizen who met and became friends with Curtis.
Xavier told us how Curtis had lost touch with his fellow buddies from World War II.
and how he would very much like to get in contact with any of them,
to share old memories and renew the friendship and camraderie they knew during the war.

Curtis was born in Georgia on June 10, 1924. His mother died when he was very young, and he was raised
by his father, along with four brothers and two sisters. He worked on the family farm until he entered the US Army
on November 29, 1943. He was trained in infantry heavy weapons, including mortars, bazooka and heavy machine gun.

On May 2, 1944 he departed for England, arriving there on May 16. What little time he spent in England
was occupied with more training, until, on June 25, 1944 he was assigned to Company D 22nd Infantry
as a Private from the 4th Infantry Division replacement pool. He fought as a machine gunner
in the drive to capture Cherbourg, in Operation Cobra ( the break-out from Normandy ),
the drive to Paris, and into Belgium.

Curtis was promoted to Private First Class on July 13, 1944. On September 17, 1944, in the fighting along the Siegfried Line,
he received serious wounds from artillery fire, which caused him to be evacuated from the front lines.
He was in a coma in the hospital for 2 or 3 weeks, and when he awoke from the coma
it was some time before he regained his speech. His wounds kept him in the rear echelon
for the remainder of the war. In Binche, Belgium he met Arlette HAUTMONT, his future wife. After the war
they lived in the US for one year, before moving permanently to Belgium, where they have lived ever since.

Binche, Belgium April 15, 1945

Curtis and Arlette

Binche, Belgium 1945

The name of Isaac C. "Curtis" Phillips in the casualty listings of the 22nd Infantry After Action Report
for September 1944. The notation "SWA" indicates "Seriously Wounded in Action."

Alain Duez and Xavier Van Daele have been active in helping Curtis to regain contact with his former buddies,
and have been posting info about Curtis on a website in Europe. You may view that website
by clicking on the following banner:

Or you may contact Xavier or Alain by e-mail, and he will get in touch with Curtis.

Curtis and forum team from World War II website.
2nd from right is Alain Duez, 3rd from right is Xavier Van Daele
Bastogne, Belgiun 2009

Curtis on the right meeting a fellow US veteran in the cellar used by
GEN Anthony McAuliffe in Bastogne, June 2009

Curtis at a reeinactment in Normandy June 2017.
Note he is wearing the Legion of Honor Medal
awarded to him by the government of France.

Curtis Phillips (center) visited by members of the Deeds Not Words Association
at Curtis' home in Belgium August 4, 2019. Note 22nd Infantry caps worn by everyone.
In the photo Curtis is 95 years old.

Members of the Deeds Not Words Association at the wall in Binche, Belgium where
Curtis' photo was taken in 1945 (see inset on right)

Group in Normandy at the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
Curtis Phillips is seated in the center in the dark coat.
Standing behind him in civilian clothes left to right are:
to Curtis' left in light shirt and sunglasses is Jim May - 1/22 Infantry 4th Infantry Division Vietnam
next to Jim is David Milewski - C 2/22 Infantry 4th Infantry Division Vietnam
next to David in dark shirt is LTC Mark Woempner - Commanding Officer 1-22 Infantry 4th Infantry Division Iraq
and also President of the 22nd Infantry Regiment Society

Kneeling in front to the immediate left of Curtis in the photo wearing the Anti-Gas defector sleeve is Théophile Odaert
In World War Two uniforms are members of Deeds Not Words Association
including Julien Woestyn and Loic Parent

Inauguration ceremony in Guise, France September 12, 2020 for a plaque dedicated to George Jamart,
a French resistance member in World War 2. Guise was liberated by the 22nd Infantry on September 2, 1944.
George Jamart guided the 22nd Infantry as they crossed the Aisne Region in France.

In the center of the photo above is Curtis Phillips, being helped by Fabrice on the left and Alain on the right.
To the right of Alain is Mme. Debadier, who was 4 years old when Guise was liberated in 1944.

Guise, France September 12, 2020 - left to right : Julien, Baptsite, Philippe, Loic and in center Curtis

He is buried in the cemetery of La Madeleine, in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont (Handle),
in Normandy, France. The cemetery is verey close to Utah Beach.

The following photos are from the 22nd Infantry Regiment France Association, who were the Honor Guard
at a ceremony for Curtis Phillips in the cemetery of La Madeleine. The photos were taken at the ceremony
on October 23, 2021.

Alain Duez, who was a close personal friend of Curtis Phillips.
Alain helped take care of Curtis in his later years.