Phillip Milton Sleet

West Point, 1964

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Bob Ballagh on June 4, 2014:

These are the notes that I used at Skeet's graveside visit in the West Point Cemetery during our 50th Reunion on May 19, 2014. Phillip Milton Sleet - Born: GA - Appointment: LA - Branch: Arty - 2/35Arty at Fort Carson 65 Hq54ArtyGp RVN 67 Fort Sill 67 Resd 70 CPT - D-Alexandria LA 9Dec04 HOWITZER: Skeet hails from Alexandria, Louisiana and is one of the friendliest men in the Corps. As a Plebe, he found English quite a challenge but went on to become a "hive." He will always be remembered for his pleasant disposition and ability to accomplish any task given him. A number of classmates and friends posted personal memories on Skeet's personal eulogy page on the class web site, including George Smith, Ted Morgan, Jim O'Donnell, Jed Brown, Dave Stepek, Dagmar Batts (Skeet's love from Alexandria), his younger brother Jack, his nieces Laura Monson Roth & Keri Overman, and Peter D'Alessandro. Rather than try to quote from these personal notes, I would ask that you take time and visit his personal Eulogy page, where you will find a theme that runs through all of these memories is his kindness and gentleness. I personally knew Skeet at West Point -- we were in 6th New Cadet Company, and he was in M-1 when I was in L-1 and K-1, so we were in Old South Area together for two years and often ran into each other. I don't recall taking any classes with him. We next met during my two tours at Fort Polk in the 1980's -- and we particularly got to know him well during the second tour, when he was the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce liaison to Fort Polk. That is when we learned that he collected Louisiana art by Clementine Hunter, granddaughter of a former slave at Melrose Plantation and renowned artist of Louisiana primitive art. He was also very devoted to the care of his mother, who outlived him by two years. We last saw him during several of our visits to our son's home in Leesville in the late '90s and early 2000s. I solicited a number of his roommates and friends to find some stories that have not been told about his cadet days and his service until his resignation. Al Fulco, his roommate for part of Cow year, wrote that Skeet was a great roommate. He had a unique personality and one speed --- Louisiana slow. He was extremely kind. He would do anything for you. He was a real charmer. I don't know who liked him more, my MOM or my girlfriend (Janet, now my wife of 49 years). During the Armed Forces day trip to NYC a cousin of mine was getting married in north Jersey. We went to the reception for a few hours before we had to meet the buses back to WP. The wedding was a BIG Italian celebration. Skeet stole the show. He charmed every woman in the place. They thought he talked funny. In the spring of Cow year he pulled some strings and arranged for us to go to DC and attend a debutant ball arranged by the members of Congress from LA. He knew everybody and turned on the charm again. After graduation we broke contact until the 40th reunion, where it was a real treat for to spend that time with him." Peter D'Alessandro wrote that "regrettably I didn't have much contact with Skeet during our years in Viet Nam. However, at Fort Sill we did get together quite a bit. Because we both were in Carson for our first tour and had relationships to maintain, we made a point of driving up there a couple-three times. At 16-20 hours per round trip, I'd classify those junkets as a major tribute to our collective testosterone levels. Skeet he had a remarkable penchant for networking and identifying contacts, no matter the location, industry or, at times, the company. To Skeet, Six degrees of Separation, was no more than a start. Had he lived to the present, Facebook might have had a meltdown. It was as if he had a hidden Rolodex the size of a tractor wheel. His other quality, likely his best, was his utter absence of ire or even irritation with anyone, no matter how egregious the individual. Perhaps he kept it hidden, but I simply never ever heard him utter a critique of anyone." Jim Adams reports that some 10 years ago Skeet informed him that one of his late relatives served as an illustrator for the Confederate forces during the civil war and he believed that some of his illustrations of the battle of Manassas were in the Manassas Battlefield Museum. Skeet's thought was that he could have copies of the illustrations made and sell them at the museum. He planned for the proceeds to go to his mother. Unfortunately, Skeet passed before he could complete this. Skeet, we know you are resting in peace.

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