Sidney Phillips provided source material and interviews for the making of Ken Burns' PBS documentary film The War and the HBO miniseries The Pacific.
11 Facts About Sidney Phillips
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Sidney Phillips's recollections revolve around his time as a young man fighting in the Pacific War.
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Sidney Phillips was inducted later that month after obtaining parental permission.
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Sidney Phillips served with How Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division and saw combat as an 81mm mortarman in a number of battles including the Battle of the Tenaru during the Guadalcanal Campaign and the Battle of Cape Gloucester.
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Sidney Phillips 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.
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Sidney Phillips had decided while at Cape Gloucester to become a physician, so he enrolled in Spring Hill College, then went to medical school to become a family physician.
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Sidney Phillips enlisted in the USMC Reserves while at Spring Hill, then was finally discharged in April 1948.
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Sidney 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.
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Sidney Phillips is buried at Pine Crest Cemetery in Mobile.
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Sidney Phillips wrote the memoir You'll be Sor-ree, an accounting of his experiences in the Marines.
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Sidney Phillips's character was played by actor Ashton Holmes in the HBO miniseries The Pacific.