Phil, or better yet, "Stoney," as his friends fondly call him, came aboard the Spangler in late 1956 as a FT3, just in time to make the cruise to WESPAC and cross the equator with the rest of us Pollywogs. He received his 2nd class rating in May of '57, and remained aboard until his transfer in 1958. The highlight of his time on the Spangler had to be the day his younger brother, Verl, came aboard for duty fresh out of bootcamp. This was September 10, 1957. The two of them had a blast together, as exampled by the seatale Verl tells of the time he and Stoney made a trip Tijuana and Verl ended up in the brig. It's fun reading if you haven't done so, just click here (be sure to use your browsers back button to return).  Phil remained in the Navy after leaving the Spangler and rose to rank of Chief, eventually retiring with 20-years of service. He had a smile as wide as a continent as displayed in the photos below. The photo on the right (click it for a larger view -- use your browsers back button to return) was taken the day he put on his chief's uniform and stood watch as OOD for the first time May 20th 1967. He served aboard the USS Bausell (DD-845), the USS Agerholm (DD-826) and the the USS E. G. Small (DDR-837), along with shore duty stints in Hawaii, Kwajalein, and the Great Lakes Training Center in Illinois.
It was in Hawaii in 1954 that he met and married a beautiful Hawaiian girl, Winona Pelekai, and together they had three wonderful children. Sadly she past away in 1975. Verl recalls her as one of the sweetest women he ever met!
Phil opened a combination service station and grocery store in Payton, CO, following his retirement. Later he went to work for a company in Hawaii doing x-ray analysis on drill well samples. It was there that he became ill and had to be relocated to a medical facility in Federal Way, Washington. He died there in October 1997. The remembrance is submitted by his brother Verl Stoneburner..
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