He registered for the WW II draft on 30 June 1942, and he was listed as employed by Joseph Caito, Indianapolis. He was 5' 10" tall; weighed 180 pounds; had black hair, black eyes and a 'ruddy' complexion.

On 13 February 1943 he entered the service from Indianapolis, Indiana, as a private. He had two years of high school education, was single, with dependents and his civilian occupation was listed as: "Wholesale managers".

Phil was listed in Frank Guild's book ' A Journey to the Far Shore' as a 1945 member of the 84th TCS; he was a member of the 437th TCG Association and was listed on their rosters from 1972 through 1996.