He provided source material and interviews for the making of Ken Burns' PBS documentary film The War and the HBO miniseries The Pacific.

Their father, Sidney (1893-1950), was a US Army veteran of the Battle of Argonne Forest who became a teacher, then the principal of Murphy High School, where Phillips graduated in 1941.

After graduating from high school, Phillips enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps at age 17, on December 8, 1941; the day after the Attack on Pearl Harbor.

[1][2][3] He reported that his mortar crew observed effective fire control discipline; one example was a firefight on Cape Gloucester where they were able to provide light high explosive rounds through the jungle canopy only 15 yards in front of their own lines.

[5] Phillips reported that Eugene Sledge's widow and sons introduced him to Ken Burns' writing team, then later the HBO writers, so that he was able to provide needed information about the lives of Marines in combat for the making of The Pacific.