Captain Phillips Shares Story of Courage, Perseverance
Captain Richard Phillips tells convention attendees they have more strength than they know.
by Kindra Gordon for Angus Journal®
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Feb. 4, 2014) — “It was hard; I was scared the whole time. I didn’t know how it was all going to turn out,” said Captain Richard Phillips as he addressed more than 6,000 individuals at the opening general session of the 2014 Cattle Industry Convention, which got under way Feb. 4 in Nashville, Tenn.
Then Phillips delivered his punch line, “But enough about my wedding day.”
It gathered a quick round of laughter, but most in the audience knew Phillips was alluding to the harrowing experience he had at sea in April 2009 when his cargo ship the MV Maersk Alabama was taken hostage by Somali pirates.
In 2013, a major motion picture titled Captain Phillips told the story of the incident, and Phillips has also authored a book, A Captain’s Duty, about his life as a merchant mariner.
During his keynote address, Phillips recounted many of the details that unfolded from the time the pirates got onboard until his dramatic rescue by a Navy SEAL team, and he emphasized the importance of leadership during stressful situations. His appearance was sponsored by animal health company Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc.
Phillips graduated from Massachusetts Maritime Academy in 1979 and worked his way up to become a captain in 1991. He shared it is a career he was hooked on from his first trip to sea. As captain, he said he views his job as responsible 24-7 for the ship, crew and cargo.
From various experiences in his career — not the least of which was his life-threatening experience with the four armed pirates — Phillips said he has three points he wants others to also realize:
- You are much stronger than you know.
- Nothing is lost until we choose to give up.
- A dedicated, focused team can accomplish anything.
Phillips endured many things as a hostage and, in retrospect, he said, all of these principles are true.
“Somewhere within us, we find the strength to do what must be done,” he said. In agriculture people face competition and a changing economy, he acknowledged, joking, “You may wish at times it was just four pirates shooting at you.”
Of his ordeal, Phillips said, “I vowed I wouldn’t give up.” He worked to stay calm, said Phillips. “No one solves a crisis by being panicked.”
Phillips said he does not view himself as a hostage or a hero. He just did what he could to keep his ship, crew and cargo safe, which as a captain he felt was his duty. None of the crew lost their life in the ordeal.
“The real heroes are those U.S. Navy SEALS who risked their lives to save mine,” he said.
Phillips concluded by eluding to a larger metaphor for life, noting that we are all riding on ever-shifting seas. He emphasized seeing tough times through and working together, saying, “If we come together as a dedicated, focused team we can overcome any obstacle.”
Phillips closed by sharing a stanza from the poem See It Through by Edgar Albert Guest:
When you're up against a trouble,
Meet it squarely, face to face;
Lift your chin and set your shoulders,
Plant your feet and take a brace.When it's vain to try to dodge it,
Do the best that you can do;
You may fail, but you may conquer,
See it through!
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