Corporal Phillips was a member of Headquarters Company, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was taken Prisoner of War while fighting the enemy near Taejon, South Korea, on 19 July 1950, forced to march to North Korea on the "Tiger Death March", and died at the "Cornfield" near Manpo, North Korea, on 5 November 1950. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Phillips was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Prisoner of War Medal, 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.