A pilot from the Quad Cities will be among those honored Saturday in Springfield. The Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs will host the 24th Desert Storm Remembrance Ceremony, at the Illinois State Military Museum.
Air Force Captain Stephen Phillis from Rock Island died in February of 1991 - during a mission over Kuwait, he was trying to provide cover for his wingman who'd been shot down, when his plane was hit by a surface-to-air missile.
Phillis graduated from Rock Island Alleman High School, and the Air Force Academy. He's one of fourteen military personnel from Illinois who died during the first Gulf War. Nearly 400 Americans died as a result of Desert Storm, including 147 combat deaths.