WASHINGTON, D.C. – This Memorial Day, Rep. Phillips, a Gold Star Son, shared the story of his birth father on Today Show. Arthur “Artie” Pefer was an Army Captain who died in a helicopter crash during the Vietnam war, when Rep. Phillips was just six months old. Nearly 54 years later, Rep. Phillips visited the crash site in Vietnam to reconnect with his father.

“It had become a mission," said Phillips. "And when I got there, I can remember thinking, ‘This is where he took his last breath.’ And for me, it felt like a place where I could take my first.”

WATCH: Rep. Phillips’s inspiring story here

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