His father, West Point graduate, served as Army lieutenant colonel there and young Philip and his two younger brothers, Daniel and Henry, were influenced by his service.

[1] His first assignment took him with the 1st Provisional Brigade of Marines to Cuba, where he participated in the suppression of armed revolt of independence war veterans who defeated the meager government forces.

He was then attached as an instructor to the Marine Officer School at Port Royal, South Carolina, and remained there until March 1911, when he returned to Cuba in order to protect "American lives and property" at Guantánamo Bay.

[2] Torrey returned to the United States in August 1912 and assumed duty with Naval Disciplinary Barracks at Port Royal, South Carolina.

He served in this capacity until April 1914, when he was attached to the Marine detachment aboard the newly commissioned battleship USS New York and participated in the Veracruz Expedition during the ongoing Mexican Revolution.

After U.S. Army assumed control of Veracruz, the USS New York resumed her shakedown cruise along the East Coast of the United States and Torrey served with that ship until April 1916.

Torrey was promoted to the rank of major in May 1917 and transferred to the Marine Corps Base Quantico two months later for duty as an instructor of newly commissioned officers.

[4] Most of the Division's staff members criticized the influence of divisional supply officer, George E. Monson, over Torrey and when the talented, outspoken commander of 11th Marine Artillery Regiment, Pedro del Valle got into a dispute with Monson over alleged discrimination against artillery in matters of housing, equipment, messing facilities and transportation, another problem within the division's command structure was born.

Commandant Holcomb sent an investigator, who cleared Colonel del Valle, but also discovered that Torrey, an ardent Irish-American, had made similar remarks about Roosevelt's pro-British sympathies.

Torrey Jr. was shot down over Tokyo in February 1945 and posthumously promoted to the rank of commander and also two daughters, Elizabeth (1910–1980) and Rebecca (1919–2002) married Naval aviator and late marine colonel Neil R.