-(1920-1947)-
-Phelps was born in San Francisco in 1920, where both his father and grandfather ran a shipping company.
-He attended Stanford University. Before the war, he married a woman named Marie and had two daughters with her.

Service in the USMC
-Cole went to Officer Candidate School to join the United States Marine Corps. He befriended Hank Merrill and developed an intense rivalry with Jack Kelso.

-In the days following his recruitment, he was given top honors for his bravery.
-However, during his time in the USMC, he was known as the “Dark Shadow,” considered to be “bad luck” whenever someone was under his command during combat.
-Some of his men greatly respected Phelps, claiming tales of his almost supernatural stealth, killing Japanese soldiers without ever being seen.

-In his time with the Corps, many of his troops disapproved of his actions during combat.
-He was part of a scout team in the Okinawa campaign before being moved to the infantry division when a high-ranking officer at the time needed to push through the enemy line into enemy territory.
-During the battle for Sugar Loaf Hill, when it was time to push through enemy lines, his battalion and C.O. were killed.
-As a result, Cole wanted to fall back despite the protest of his close friend, Hank Merrill.
-Shortly afterwards, he witnessed Hank get blown to pieces by an explosion after they had taken cover in a foxhole, after which went into shock.
-The next morning, he was found by other USMC servicemen, covered in soot, lying next to Merrill's remains, largely uninjured. As the sole survivor, he was promoted to First Lieutenant and received the Silver Star, the third highest commendation he could achieve. Cole would forever be haunted by his experience and guilt-ridden for being honored for his "lack of courage."
-Near the end of his service, he was dispatched (along with many other troops) to clear out settlements and caves for any signs of enemy forces during the battle of Sugar Loaf.
-Cole, being under strict orders, wanted to clear out every sign of the enemy in the caves and villages, though this caused them to fall behind other squads.

-Cole's meticulous attention to detail and insistence on clearing out each and every cave eventually caught up with him his squad fell far behind other units, and Cole eventually rushed his men into an ambush.
-This is contrasted with Kelso's approach, where he ordered Cole's squad to carefully approach a cave complex and simply seal the entrance, trapping any and all Japanese, whether civilian or soldiers, within.
-Ira Hogeboom, armed with a flamethrower and following Cole's orders, surged forward past the ambush and set the cave ablaze only afterward do Cole and his unit realize the cave was filled with civilians, specifically women and children, who while badly burned, many remain alive and in agonizing pain.
-Cole's unit, terrified and distraught about what had just happened, looked to Phelps for an answer as the badly injured women and children writhed in agony around them. Panicking, Cole ordered his men to end the victims' suffering and execute the burned women and children.
-Protesting loudly, and finally pushed to the breaking point by Cole's orders, Courtney Sheldon shot Cole in the back, taking out his frustration and anger at Cole's hypocrisy.
-Kelso arrived, taking command of the situation and ordering the Marines out of the cave, ordering them to never speak of the incident again.
-After receiving treatment for his wound at an army hospital, Phelps was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps. He returned home to Los Angeles before the end of the war and joined the LAPD shortly thereafter.