Phillip McNeill laid to rest

OWINGSVILLE, Ky. - U.S. Army Sgt. Phillip McNeill, an Ohio native who died this month when an explosive hit his Humvee in Iraq, was buried next to his grandfather Monday in central Kentucky.

McNeill, 22, had been in Iraq since September on his second tour when he was killed Jan. 20 in Anbar province, according to family members.

His friends and family filled Owingsville Christian Church for his funeral Monday, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported. He was buried in Owingsville Cemetery, next to World War II veteran Lt. Col. Jesse Lewis McNeill.

For holidays, Phillip McNeill visited Owingsville, where his grandmother, Lillian Williams McNeill, lives.

McNeill's father, David, and brother, Chris, live in Louisville, family members said. His mother, Angela Fiely, and stepfather, Clermont County (Ohio) Sheriff's Deputy Jeff Fiely, are from Batavia, Ohio.

McNeill was remembered for his magnetism, people were drawn to him, and he was the glue that held his friends together, the newspaper reported. He was planning to propose to his girlfriend, whom he had known since high school. He graduated from a Florida school.

"You never realized how one life can be touched by so many," said his aunt, Pamela McNeill Bates.

From the Herald Leader

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