COMO—A noontime flyover of four F-16 fighter aircraft will honor the memory of Col. Clyde Bryant “Joe Bob” Phillips III at Como’s Friendship Cemetery Saturday.
The choice of aircraft is especially appropriate. The retired Air Force officer was part of the initial multi-national test and tactics evaluation for the F-16. “He wrote the manual,” a Panola County friend said.
Col. Phillips spent his early years in Como but graduated from the American School in the Philippine Islands before attending Mississippi State University where he was an officer in the Air Force ROTC program.
The colonel served two tours in the Vietnam War, flying over 200 combat missions. He was a graduate of the Air Force’s Fighter Weapons School, later serving as an instructor there.
Col. Phillips “was recognized as one of the most skilled fighter pilots in the United States Air Force,” a news release accompanying his obituary states. “The U.S.A.F.’s transformation from the Vietnam era to the unparalleled fighting force of today is a direct result of his efforts.”
After retiring from the Air Force Col. Phillips joined Lockheed Martin and helped to develop the F-35 Joint Strike Force fighter jet. Following his second retirement, he and his wife, Donna Trammell Phillips moved to Melbourne, FL where he died at his home Feb. 21, 2016 at age 69.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, May 21, at Como United Methodist Church at 10:30 a.m. followed by interment of ashes at the Friendship Cemetery southeast of Como and just east of I-55.
Four F-16s from the 169th Fighter Wing of the South Carolina Air National Guard are scheduled to fly over the cemetery at noon in the “missing man” formation, an Air Force spokesman said.