First Lieutenant Phy was the aircraft commander of a B-29 Superfortress Bomber with the 370th Bomber Squadron, 307th Bomber Wing based at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. On 27 January 1953 the aircraft was on a combat mission when it crashed 3 miles north of Suwon Air Base (K-13), South Korea, killing him and two other airmen.

Phy was awarded the Purple Heart, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.