Captain rescued from pirates to be Illumination marshal

Since his better-than-Hollywood rescue from the clutches of Somali pirates in April, Capt. Richard Phillips has met President Barack Obama, hobnobbed with celebrities at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, and played poker with Red Sox players at a Boston fundraiser.

Next month, Phillips will get a slightly less glamorous opportunity - one that allows him to share heartfelt thanks to a community crucial to his rescue: He will serve as grand marshal of downtown Norfolk's Grand Illumination Parade on Nov. 21.

City officials announced Phillips' involvement Wednesday.

The captain of the Maersk ship Alabama also will attend a sneak preview of an upcoming National Geographic pirate exhibit - "Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship" - at Nauticus. A locally produced companion exhibit will feature the lifeboat that Phillips lived in for five days, along with his captors, until Navy snipers killed the pirates.

Phillips was widely hailed as a hero for giving himself up to the pirates to save his crew. But he doesn't think he deserves that moniker, said Alison McColl, a family friend and spokeswoman. He insists the true heroes are the Navy personnel who rescued him - and coming to Norfolk will give him a chance to thank some of the sailors in person.

The crew of the Bainbridge, now home from deployment, will get to reunite with their former passenger.

Phillips spent a few hours aboard the destroyer after Navy SEALs, shooting from the boat's fantail, killed his captors.

"He's just tremendously grateful," McColl said Wednesday. "Anytime that he can show his gratitude, and his wife as well, they're anxious to clear their schedules and take part."

Hank Lynch, executive director of Nauticus, said of Phillips: "He stood there while the pirates were on his bridge, and he offered himself to save his crew. I'm in awe of the man."

A reception at Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center - where the Bainbridge will be moored - gives the city a chance to thank the Navy, too, for protecting the nation.

"This is a very proud moment for all of us," Lynch said.

McColl said Phillips has taken a leave of absence from his seagoing duties. He spent the summer with his wife, Andrea, and college-age daughter and son. He's doing some maritime security work and giving speeches - some for profit, but many pro bono, too.

He'll wait until spring to decide whether to go back to sea.

Phillips doesn't like the limelight, McColl and Lynch said. But the public will get to hear a lot more about his captivity and rescue next year: He is writing a book.

Kate Wiltrout, (757) 446-2629, kate.wiltrout@pilotonline.com