01/09/2026
The Phelps Brothers of Rives Junction
Six brothers answered their country’s call for World War II; three came home, while three were lost across the Mediterranean and France, leaving one Michigan family marked forever by extraordinary wartime sacrifice and remembrance. In the small Michigan community of Rives Junction, Ralph and Cecile Phelps watched something extraordinary happen during World War II: six of their sons entered military service. By the time the war was over, only three of those six would return. Three separate casualty stories, from the skies over the Mediterranean to the battlefields of France, would become forever connected to the same family.
One of them was Staff Sergeant Gene R. Phelps, born in 1921 and known in some family material as “Bob.” He entered the U.S. Army Air Forces and served with the 515th Bombardment Squadron, 376th Bombardment Group (Heavy), one of the pioneering American B-24 Liberator organizations operating from North Africa against Axis targets across the Mediterranean. His Army serial number was 36183733.
On July 8, 1943, the 515th Bomb Squadron lost B-24D Liberator 42-40321 over the Mediterranean southeast of Catania, Sicily. The Missing Air Crew Report for the aircraft is MACR 43, and the 376th Bomb Group records the aircraft as lost during operations associated with the Sicily campaign. DPAA lists Gene R. Phelps as missing from the Mediterranean Sea on July 8, 1943.
The B-24 was shot down over the sea on the return from operations around Sicily. Contemporary and later crew research records that most of the crew was lost and that the wreckage and many of the men were never recovered. Gene therefore has no known individual grave. He is commemorated among the missing associated with the North Africa American Cemetery in Tunisia.
Another Phelps brother was Marshall Field “Ted” Phelps, born on March 19, 1906, in Rives Junction. Before entering the Army, he had attended college and worked for the New York Central Railroad. He enlisted at Fort Custer, Michigan, on March 31, 1942, and eventually became a Private First Class in the 315th Infantry Regiment, 79th Infantry Division.
Marshall’s division entered France through Normandy and fought eastward as American forces pursued the retreating German Army. By the autumn of 1944, the 79th Infantry Division was involved in difficult combat in northeastern France, including the forests and villages of Lorraine.
On October 3, 1944, PFC Marshall Field Phelps was KIA in the Forêt de Parroy, France. He was 38 years old. His wartime record lists the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, and cemetery documentation additionally records a Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster.
Marshall now rests at Lorraine American Cemetery in Saint-Avold, France, Plot A, Row 16, Grave 42. Yet the grave immediately beside him carries another name from the same Michigan household.
That adjoining grave belongs to his younger brother, Donald Arthur Phelps.
Donald was born on May 15, 1923, in Rives Junction. He enlisted at Kalamazoo on January 20, 1943, and became a Technician Fifth Grade with the 2nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Group (Mechanized). Before entering the Army, he had worked in a semiskilled machine-shop occupation.
The mechanized cavalry reconnaissance units operated ahead of and alongside American formations, using armored cars, jeeps, and other vehicles to locate enemy forces, maintain contact, scout routes, and screen larger units. Donald’s squadron fought during the rapid Allied advance across France following the breakout from Normandy.
Donald was wounded during the fighting and became involved in a wounded-prisoner exchange, according to surviving family and military research. His wounds proved fatal, and he died on August 31, 1944, at only 21 years old. His record identifies the place of death as Metz, France, and lists the Purple Heart.
He was initially buried at the temporary American military cemetery at Villeneuve-sur-Auvers. After the postwar cemetery program was completed, Donald was permanently interred at Lorraine American Cemetery in Plot A, Row 16, Grave 43.
That means the two brothers now rest side by side:
Marshall Field Phelps, Grave 42.
Donald Arthur Phelps, Grave 43.
Their brother Gene has no neighboring headstone because his aircraft disappeared over the Mediterranean. His name instead survives among America’s missing airmen. In one family, therefore, the war left two identified graves in France and one brother whose body never came home from the Mediterranean.
The scale of that sacrifice becomes even more striking when viewed against the family as a whole. Ralph and Cecile Phelps had a large household, and multiple surviving records list brothers including Merlin or Melvin, Ronald, Vaughn, Forrest, Raymond, Duane, and Sidney in addition to Gene, Marshall, and Donald. A later obituary for Sidney Charles Phelps preserved the central family memory unmistakably: six of his brothers served during World War II, and three sacrificed their lives for their country.
Their hometown has not forgotten them. The Jackson County World War II Veterans Memorial lists Donald Phelps, Gene R. Phelps, and Marshall Phelps together among the county’s wartime servicemen, preserving three names from the same Rives Junction family.
Six brothers from one Michigan family answered the call during World War II. Three eventually came home. Gene disappeared with a B-24 over the Mediterranean. Donald succumbed to wounds in France. Marshall fell in the forests of Lorraine little more than a month later. Today, Donald and Marshall rest side by side on French soil, while Gene’s name stands among America’s missing. For Ralph and Cecile Phelps, victory in 1945 could never erase the terrible price their family had already paid. 🇺🇸🕊️
This true story is based on historical records and is shared for educational purposes only.
