Cole Phelps

History
(Warning! May contain spoliers!)
 * "Friends who want to stay friends, don't discuss religion or politics. In my case you can add the war to that."
 * ―Cole Phelps

Cole Phelps is a central character and the main protagonist of L.A. Noire. Phelps is a former member of the Marine Corps, who later returned from the war as a hero, joining the Los Angeles Police Department. Soon after, he quickly rose through the ranks and became a Detective.

Phelps was born to a San Francisco family; both his father and grandfather had run a shipping company. He attended Stanford University. Cole went to Officer Candidate School for the United States Marine Corps, and shipped out in early 1945. He fought in the Okinawa Campaign, during which he won the Silver Star. At Okinawa he unknowingly ordered the massacre of Japanese civilians when he sent his men in to burn a Japanese cave that had been converted into a hospital for the wounded, an act that continued to haunt him through his life. Following the war, he was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps, and joined the LAPD shortly thereafter.

Working for the LAPD, Phelps discovered that Los Angeles was not what it seemed to be. It was a city full of crime and corruption and cautious about many of the sleazy nightclubs, apart from The Blue Room where his German love interest played. Phelps began as a regular beat officer, but the department quickly noticed that he had talent as an investigator and promoted him to Detective where he investigated traffic desk before then continuing on to be promoted to homicide desk and vice desk, he then had an affair with a German singer, Elsa Lichtmann, and,on discovery, he was demoted to the arson desk, receiving a different partner each time. During this time Cole worked on the most notorious L.A. crimes of the year by finding evidence at the crime scene and interrogating suspects, witnesses and or persons related to the case. As he solved more crimes, Cole started to learn more about the criminal underworld of Los Angeles and how close many of his colleagues and superiors were to it. Although the whole enterprise was mired in corruption, Phelps kept his dignity and continued to clean up the city's drug trafficking, violence and corruption that plagued the City of Angels.

At some point prior to him joining the LAPD, he got married, although Phelps' wife is seen only three times in the game. According to Cole, when having a conversation with Rusty Galloway during one of the homicide cases, he states that his wife is the mother of his girls as mentioned in Manifest Destiny. Rusty's reaction to this is that he did not expect Cole to be a family man. Although for one reason or another he tries to derail any conversation about his family and marriage.

In the days following his recruitment, he has been given top honors for his bravery; However, during his time in the USMC, he has been known as the “Dark Shadow” or considered to be “bad luck” whenever someone is 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. He earned the disapproval of some, however, by expressing his respectful, almost sympathetic, view towards the enemy. This is because Phelps viewed the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor justified, due to America shutting off their oil.

In his time in the Corp he was considered bad luck, many of his troops didn’t approve of his actions during combat. He was part of scout team before being moved to the infantry division when the high ranking officer at that time needed to push through the enemy line in to 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 his close-friend's,Hank Merrill 's, protests. Shortly afterwards, he witnessed Hank get blown to pieces by an explosion after they took cover in a foxhole. Cole went into shock. The next morning he was found by other USMC service men, covered in soot, lying next to Merrill's remains. As the sole survivor, he was promoted to First Lieutenant and received the Silver Star, the third highest commendation he could achieve, only the Navy Cross and the Medal of Honor being higher. Cole is forever haunted by his experience and is 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 homes 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; because of this he was falling behind other squads.

Cole's meticulous attention to detail and insistence on clearing out each and every cave eventually catches up with him; his squad falls far behind other units, and Cole begins to rush his men, leading them into an ambush. This is contrasted with Kelso's approach, where Kelso orders his squad to carefully approach a cave complex and simply seal the entrance, trapping any and all Japanese, whether civlian or soldiers, within. Ira Hogeboom, armed with a flamethrower and following Cole's orders, surges forward past the ambush and sets those within the cave ablaze; only afterwards does Cole and his unit realize the cave was filled with civilians, specifically women and children, who while badly burned, remain alive and in agonizing pain after Ira's use of the flamethrower.

Cole's unit, scared and distraught about what had happened, look to Phelps for an answer as the badly injured women and children writhe in agony around them. Panicking, Cole orders his men to end the victim's suffering and execute the badly burned women and children. Protesting loudly, and finally pushed to the breaking point by Cole's orders, Courtney Sheldon shoots Cole in the back, taking out his frustration. Kelso arrives, taking command of the situation and ordering the Marines out of the cave, ordering them to never speak of the incident again. Cole was then taken to an Army Hospital while the remaining Marines followed Kelso's suggestion of never speaking of the events on Okinawa. These events seem to act as a catalyst for Cole to seek personal redemption in his career as a police officer.

At the end of the game, Cole and Kelso go after Ira Hogeboom, from Cole's former battalion. Cole, who managed to meet Kelso and Elsa in the underground sewer, took Elsa to a sewer grate where Biggs and the assistant DA were waiting above ground. Elsa was safely taken above ground along with Kelso when Cole boosted them up. Cole failed to reach Biggs in time, uttering a simple "goodbye" before the current swept him through the tunnels, causing him to drown in the torrent if the impact of the current hadn't killed him.

Bekowsky, Earle, Dunn, Galloway, Biggs, Kelso, Elsa, Marie and his two daughters were in attendance at his funeral. Earle delivers the eulogy, praising Cole's actions while with the LAPD and denouncing the false accusations made against him, angering Elsa in the process. When Kelso tried to calm her, Elsa slapped his hand away, saying, "Get out of my way, Jack! and you call yourself his friend..." before leaving.

When Biggs pointed out that Kelso and Phelps were never friends, Kelso agreed, but added that he was never Phelps' enemy. Biggs said he believed Phelps knew that.

(From L.A. Noire wiki)

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