Tom Phipps Recognized as 2014 Rakkasan of the Year

September 20, 2014 is a grand occasion.  First it's the birthday of my brother Chris.  Second, it's the day our father, Tom Phipps, will be recognized as Rakkasan of the Year, by the 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment Association.  Dad is an active member of American Legion Post 112 and Sons of the American Legion Squadron 112 in Dalton, Georgia. 

Biography of Tom Arthur Phipps

            The following eventful experiences were pivotal in the development of Tom’s faith and growth for service.

            Tom Arthur Phipps was born November 27, 1930 in Akron, Ohio. His parents, Leonard F. and Myrtle B. Phipps who were born and reared in Georgia, had gone north for work during the Great Depression. They brought their family back to Georgia in 1937.

            Tom graduated high school in 1950 at Mount Berry School for Boys in Rome, Georgia. While at Berry, he studied the “Life of Jesus” and became a Christian in 1949. After discharge from the Army in April 1953, he started Junior College on the G.I. Bill and entered the ministry, both in 1954.  Tom earned an A.B. degree from Mercer University in 1959, a Master of Education degree from the University of Georgia in 1975, and finished a Course of Study in Theology at Emory University in the 1980s.

            Tom met Jerri Caldwell while in Junior College and they were married in 1957. They have two children – Cheryl Dawn and Christopher Shawn. They have three grandchildren. Jerri also has degrees in education from Mercer University and the University of Georgia. Both are retired teachers. Tom taught Junior and Senior High School for twenty-one years while pastoring Baptist and Methodist churches. He retired from the ministry in 1998 after getting a pacemaker in 1997.

           Tom was drafted in April of 1951. He took basic training at Camp Breckenridge, KY and jump school at Fort Benning, GA. He was then shipped out to join the 187th Airborne R.C.T. “Rakkasans” at Camp Chickamauga in Beppu, Japan. Tom was assigned to Medical Company and sent to Tokyo for aidman training. He pulled periodic duty in the camp dispensary.  While in Japan, he joined a small Bible group of troopers lead by Chaplain Dr. Robert Rayburn. Chaplain Rayburn and Sergeant Joe Kamikawa were vital mentors for Tom.

            The 187^th returned to Korea at Taegu where they barely missed another combat jump. They were then sent to Koji-Do Island to “fix a mess.” Tom served at Koji-Do in a medical tent directly in front of “Compound 76.” He helped treat Rakkasans first, then POWs outside of the tent.  Tom served in Kumwha Valley in patrol action. He served on one night patrol to help recover Lester Hammond’s body. Tom rotated out of Korea in 1953.

            Tom served in the American Legion during the 1990s as a baseball manager and coach, as well as post and district chaplain. Since then he has been serving by transporting veterans to V.A. Clinics. He has greatly enjoyed being Golden Rakkasan chaplain and learned much from career troopers who fought in all three of the following wars: WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.