At an annual Native American memorial ceremony at Arlington Cemetery in 2008:
In tears, Phillips explained that he had literally dropped off his wife at the emergency room days before the ceremony. He had expressed to her that he wanted to stay with her, be she told him to go and conduct the ceremony.
Which he had convened for 15 years and where he was highly respected.
Phillips also described coming back to the U.S. as a veteran of the Vietnam era. “People called me a baby killer and a hippie girl spit on me.”
Not so, according to published post-Covington-students correction.
The entire crowd was moved by the events and words spoken. Phillips then led the gathering in the lighting and partaking of the sacred pipe.
But what if they had known he had not served?
Blithe Spirit 