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2022 SESSION

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22104446D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 212 Offered February 10, 2022 Celebrating the life of Rufus Colfax Phillips III. ---------- Patrons-- VanValkenburg, Hope and Willett; Senator: Hashmi ----------

WHEREAS, Rufus Colfax Phillips III, an honorable veteran, accomplished author and businessman, esteemed public servant, and a beloved member of the Arlington County community, died on December 29, 2021; and

WHEREAS, Rufus Phillips graduated from Woodberry Forest School, earned a degree from Yale University, and was a member of the United States Army’s Officer Candidate School Class of 1953; and

WHEREAS, Rufus Phillips briefly served in Korea in the early 1950s before joining the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Vietnam, serving as an adviser to the newly formed army of South Vietnam and later leading a counterinsurgency program in the country in the early 1960s; and

WHEREAS, following his service, Rufus Phillips was president of a successful engineering consultancy that managed projects both in the United States and abroad, including the development of several airports in countries throughout the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America; and

WHEREAS, dedicated to the well-being of his community, Rufus Phillips was elected in 1971 to represent the Dranesville District on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, which he served until 1976; and

WHEREAS, Rufus Phillips chaired the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and in 1975 was named a “Washingtonian of the Year” by Washingtonian Magazine for his efforts to oversee planning in both Fairfax County and throughout the region; and

WHEREAS, Rufus Phillips was a celebrated author whose 2008 memoir, Why Vietnam Matters: An Eyewitness Account of Lessons Not Learned is regarded as an important contribution to the history of foreign policy and the Vietnam War; his forthcoming book, Stabilizing Fragile States: Why It Matters and What to Do About It, is due to be published in April of this year; and

WHEREAS, on the eve of his 80th birthday, Rufus Phillips traveled to Kabul and generously volunteered his time to help observe the Afghanistan 2009 presidential election with the Free and Fair Elections Foundation of Afghanistan; and

WHEREAS, preceded in death by his loving wife of 59 years, Barbara, Rufus Phillips will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by his children, Rufus IV, Anne, Edward, and Patricia, and their families and by numerous other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Rufus Colfax Phillips III, whose kindness and decency were an inspiration to all who knew him; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Rufus Colfax Phillips III as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.