Premier Expresses Condolences on the Passing of Lanier W. Phillips

The Honourable Kathy Dunderdale, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, today expressed her condolences on the passing of Lanier W. Phillips, one of the last survivors of the 1942 Truxtun and Pollux disaster. Mr. Phillips was inducted to the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador (honorary) on September 13, 2011.

“It was my honour to meet Mr. Phillips during the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador induction ceremony last fall,” said Premier Dunderdale. “The Order is a way to celebrate those whose daily actions profoundly impact the lives of others. Lanier Phillips embodied the true spirit of the Order through his eloquence in promoting Newfoundlanders and Labradorians as compassionate, generous and brave. He holds an important place in the history of this province and on behalf of all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, I offer my deepest sympathies to his loved ones.”

On February 18, 1942, the USS Truxtun and the USS Pollux were shipwrecked off Newfoundland’s south coast resulting in a loss of 110 sailors from the Truxtun and 93 sailors from the Pollux. Mr. Phillips was among the 46 rescued from the Truxtun wreckage by the fishers and miners of St. Lawrence. He was the lone black sailor to survive. The women of St. Lawrence provided first aid and nurtured the surviving sailors back to health. During the days that followed, Mr. Phillips came to the realization that there were actually places in the world that treated everyone equally. He went back home to the United States and because of this experience, he became a champion of civil rights with the people of St. Lawrence always credited first and foremost for having opened his mind and setting him on the path forward.

Despite his frail health, Mr. Phillips travelled to St. Lawrence last month to mark the 70th anniversary of the disaster. Mr. Phillips, who would have turned 89 tomorrow (Wednesday, March 14), passed away at a military retirement home in Gulfport, Mississippi.

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2012 03 13             10:35 a.m.