Michael M. Phillips

Based in Nairobi, Kenya, Michael M. Phillips writes feature articles for The Wall Street Journal from across the breadth of sub-Saharan Africa, from Somalia to Equatorial Guinea.

He joined the Journal as an economics reporter in Washington D.C. in 1996, but after Sept. 11, 2001, began nearly two decades writing about U.S. troops in the field in Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia.

When not abroad, Michael focused on the aftermath of war, including post-traumatic stress, suicide and other issues facing veterans. His series "The Lobotomy Files" revealed a trove of forgotten records from the National Archives that detailed how the Veterans Administration lobotomized some 2,000 mentally ill World War II vets in the '40s and '50s. He covered the Haitian earthquake, Hurricane Katrina and the Asian Tsunami. On the Journal's dime, he jumped off an aircraft carrier in the North Arabian Sea, trekked with Eastern Lowland gorillas in Congo and, wearing a real space suit, flew in a U-2 spy plane above 70,000 feet.

Michael is the author of a book, "The Gift of Valor," about the life and death of Corporal Jason Dunham, the first Marine to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. In 2011, Michael was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his feature stories from the Afghanistan war. Among other honors, he won the Scripps Howard Foundation Ernie Pyle prize for his war coverage, the Chicago Journalists Association Daniel Pearl Award for career achievement and the Tex McCrary prize from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society for career coverage of the military.

Born in Minneapolis, Minn., Michael holds a bachelor's degree in government from Harvard College and a master's degree from the Princeton University School of Public and International Affairs. He previously worked for United Press International in Boston, the Associated Press in Madrid and Dow Jones Newswires in Washington, D.C.