Eleven Years After Being Wounded, Sgt. Shurvon Phillip Laid to Rest

Friends, family, fellow veterans celebrate life of Marine critically injured in Iraq in 2005, laid to rest Nov. 5
The News-Herald
By Jonathan Tressler
November 5, 2016

“I’m not going to be sad. I’m going to celebrate. This is not a day to be sad. We’re here to celebrate, because he’s blessed us with his life. His mother blessed us with Shurvon and now we have another angel looking over us.” USMC Staff Sgt. Derick Young

A USMC honor guard carries the casket of Sgt. Shurvon Phillip to the awaiting hearse Nov. 5 during a celebration of his life Nov. 5 at DeJohn-Flynn-Mylott Funeral Home in Willoughby Hills. Jonathan Tressler — The News-Herald

Hundreds gathered Nov. 5 at DeJohn-Flynn-Mylott Funeral Home in Willoughby Hills to honor a Marine sergeant injured in Iraq in 2005.

Despite doctors’ opinions and against all odds, U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Shurvon Phillip not only survived, but thrived, during the more than 11 years which followed.

Phillip, a native of Mayaro, Trinidad and Tobago and a 1998 graduate of East Cleveland’s Shaw High School, was critically injured when the Humvee in which he was riding struck a land mine on may 7, 2005 in Dulab, Iraq, according to USMC Staff Sgt. Derick Young, who was in the vehicle and also injured in the incident.

According to his obituary, Phillip suffered injuries which left him with a severe brain injury, causing him speech and motor-function impairment and necessitated his use of a wheelchair for many of the past 11 years.
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