Interview with William H. Phillips, Vietnam War veteran. CCSU Veterans History Project

Interview conducted by Eileen Hurst. William Phillips joined the U.S. Army in 1963 at the age of 18, with the goal of having a career in the military. He attended basic training at Fort Jackson, SC which lasted for 12 weeks. He then went to Fort Gordon, GA for Advanced Infantry Training and upon his graduation he went immediately to Jump School. Jump School consisted mainly of practicing jumps and techniques. He also went to Ranger School and Special Warfare School before going over to Vietnam. In these schools he learned techniques in communications and intelligence gathering, along with other Special Forces skills. He was part of the 5th Special Forces Group with a base in Danang, however much of his time was spent as part of small team of both Americans and Vietnamese soldiers that ran reconnaissance missions in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and up and down the Ho Chi Minh Trail, as part of the Special Operations Group. His first assignment on this team was as a radio man, and then after six to seven missions