Entering Oregon State that fall to study pharmacy, Phil became caught up in the conflict raging at the time between England and Germany and attempted with a friend to join the Royal Canadian Air Force as a pilot. Rejected for not being a Canadian citizen, Phil returned to OSC for a time, finally leaving school in February 1943 to try his luck with the Army Air Corps. An eye problem prevented him from training to be a pilot but didn t keep him from flying. His lifelong love of hunting and firearms landed him a job as a ball turret gunner in a B-17 bomber assigned to the 530th Squadron of the 381st Bomb Group. Notice the ball turret located directly behind the bomb-bay doors.
Ball is in the back row, far right.
Phil and nine of his crewmates, along with the German pilot, were killed instantly. Had they returned, they would have completed their 14th missions over central Europe, an unusually high number considering the lethal nature of the flight zone. For his service during the war, Phil was awarded the Air Medal, the European Theater Medal with Battle Stars and the Purple Heart. His bomb group also received a Presidential Citation. Phil is buried with the rest of his crewmates in Belgium near Liege.