Phil Stacey
The tragic unraveling of normal life after September 11th had already put Phil Stacey in a tailspin. Then, as his emotions spiraled out of control, Garth Brooks' hit, "The Change," began to play on the radio.

"The message of it is with all the evil in the world I'm going to be part of the good," Phil says as he relives that fateful day. "The world is not going to change that about me. I turned the radio off and turned towards my wife, and I said, 'Honey, I think I need to join the military.'"

Phil set sail for four years with the Navy, enduring boot camp at Great Lakes, IL before heading to the Little Creek Amphibious Base in Virginia Beach and at Navy Band Southeast in Jacksonville, FL. Petty Officer Third Class Phil continues serving his country in the reserves as a mass communications specialist.

During his initial stint, the "American Idol" contestant's tour of duty was touring as a rock singer in a Navy band to support recruitment efforts at high schools in the southeast.

"I was up there singing like Led Zeppelin and Guns N' Roses," Phil says. "It was very hard to get up there and do it initially on my voice, because I was used to going in and singing hymns and spiritual songs in churches."

But the highlight of his service time happened when he performed the national anthem for former Commander-in-Chief, President Jimmy Carter at an Atlanta Braves game.

"It was a thrill for me," Phil exclaimed. "My uncle is a world-renowned artist [Mitchell Tolle]. He actually painted one of the official portraits of Jimmy Carter. So, I was an idiot and the only thing I could say to Jimmy Carter was 'my uncle painted you.' What do you say to a former leader of the free world? He was president when I was born, and all these thoughts just rushed into my head."