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by Erin E. Thompson, USAICoE Staff Historian
525TH MI GROUP LOSES TWO INTELLIGENCE SPECIALISTS
Between Oct. 2-3, 1967, the 525th Military Intelligence Group lost two intelligence soldiers in separate incidents in Vietnam: counterintelligence (CI) agent Sgt. Samuel C. Phillips III and area intelligence technician Warrant Officer William W. McCarrick.
Upon the United States’ deployment of ground forces in Vietnam in March 1965, the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) recognized a need to build up its intelligence capabilities in support of the increasing number of personnel in-country. The 525th MI Group was selected to oversee this process and arrived in Vietnam in November 1965 under operational control of the MACV J-2, Maj. Gen. Joseph McChristian. The largest intelligence unit in the Army at that time, the 525th and its subordinate units provided command and control over the service’s intelligence support to MACV throughout the war.
Samuel C. Phillips III was born on Jul. 7, 1943. He enlisted in the Army at the age of twenty in May 1964 and trained as a CI agent. He began his first tour in Vietnam in May 1966 and was assigned to the 525th MI Group, providing CI support to MACV. On Oct. 2, 1967, 24-year-old Sergeant Phillips was performing low-level aerial reconnaissance over Lam Dong Province when his aircraft was struck by enemy antiaircraft fire and crashed. Initially reported as missing in action, his body was recovered a few days later.
The 525th MI Group lost another soldier the next day. William Whitner McCarrick was born on Jul. 4, 1938 and joined the Army at age nineteen. He was later appointed a warrant officer and trained as an area intelligence technician. He first deployed to Vietnam in 1965 with the 5th Special Forces Group. In May 1967, he deployed for a second time assigned to Company C, 519th MI Battalion, 525th MI Group.
The 519th MI Battalion, which was assigned to the 525th in January 1966, was described by Lt. Col. Arthur D. McQueen as “the operational jack-of-all-intelligence-trades.” The battalion served to fulfill General McChristian’s request for a “military intelligence battalion to administer the personnel working in the [combined] centers, the advisors, and various support activities” necessary for meeting the 525th and MACV’s intelligence requirements. By 1967, the 519th was one of two battalions in the 525th MI Group performing intelligence and CI operations throughout the entire theater. McCarrick’s company was the battalion’s primary collection unit.
On Oct. 3, 1967, 29-year-old WO1 McCarrick was traveling in Tay Ninh with Donald V. Freeman, an Army Special Forces captain holding a civilian billet with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The men had been providing technical assistance to the Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support program that coordinated assistance for civilian and military counterinsurgency and pacification operations across South Vietnam. As the men were driving back to their quarters, their jeep struck a landmine, disabling it on the road. The injured men were quickly ambushed and killed by enemy small arms fire.
The loss of two intelligence specialists over as many days left an indelible mark on the 525th MI Group. In honor of their sacrifices, two of the unit’s compounds in Saigon were named in their honor. The Phillips Compound on Chi Lang Street served as headquarters for the 525th MI Group, Command Support. The McCarrick Compound was occupied by the 573d MI Detachment and other elements of the 525th MI Group. Both men were awarded Purple Hearts, and their bodies were returned home to be buried in their hometowns. Phillips also posthumously received a Bronze Star.
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| Date Taken: | 09.26.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.26.2025 17:07 |
| Story ID: | 549461 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 63 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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