"Why The Heart Of A Marine?"

Phil was a very special young man. He loved his family. He was a loyal friend. He always put the needs of others before his own.

On September 11, 2001, after watching a plane hit the World Trade Center and then watching as the first tower collapsed, he resolved to do something to protect his country and those he loved. He had just begun his senior year in high school.

Phil enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in November 2002. On the day he graduated Boot Camp at MCRD in San Diego, as he introduced us to his fellow graduates, he explained that because these were his brothers, they were now our sons.

When he was preparing to leave for Iraq he said, “Where can a guy like me be a part of freeing 35 million people from the tyranny of a Saddam Hussein”?  Phil also said that he wanted to “be a part of bringing democracy and freedom like we have here, and so take for granted, to the people of Iraq”.

Phil honored us by the way he lived his life and by the way he gave his life. To serve Phil's brothers and sisters, to honor his memory and continue his caring spirit, we have begun The Heart of a Marine Foundation.

God bless and Semper Family

Georgette & Roy Frank