Army Spc. Phillip C. Edmundson

Died June 1, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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22, of Wilson, N.C.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.; killed June 1 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Bradley fighting vehicle during combat operations in Ramadi, Iraq.

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Fallen N.C. soldier laid to rest

Associated Press

WILSON, N.C. — A soldier who had been on his second tour in Iraq was buried Saturday and posthumously received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for his 10 months of service in Iraq.

Cpl. Phillip Edmundson, 22, died June 1 when his Bradley fighting vehicle was blown up by an enemy mine. Edmundson, who was buried at Evergreen Memorial Garden, was the first serviceman from this town of 42,000 to die in combat in Iraq.

While it’s likely that Edmundson was a gunner on the Bradley vehicle when it struck the mine, the Army has not yet released information on the circumstances of his death or what happened to his fellow soldiers in the armored carrier.

Edmundson, the son of Robert and Anne Edmundson, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division out of Fort Carson, Colo. He was on his second tour in Iraq after coming home in April to see his family.

“When he joined the U.S. Army, quiet Phillip became a true man — the ultimate man: a soldier,” his aunt, Sheila Woodard, told more than 500 people assembled at the L.N. Forbes Free Will Baptist Tabernacle.

U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said he has been in a serious state of reflection since learning of this death.

Butterfield reminded the audience that 37 men from Wilson had lost their lives in the Vietnam War.

“And now another war, another casualty. As we search for an explanation, as we try to rationalize this tragedy and this war we must keep our faith and trust,” Butterfield said.