THE WALL OF FACES

The Cambodian incursion was a series of military operations conducted in eastern Cambodia in mid-1970 by South Vietnam and the United States. Operations were carried out by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) between April 29th and July 22nd, and U.S. forces between May 1st and June 30th. The objective of the campaign was the defeat of the approximately 40,000 North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong troops in the border regions of Cambodia. During combat operations on May 28, 1970, a 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division soldier was fatally injured at fire support base in Cambodia when a falling tree struck him in the head. Infantryman PFC Robert R. Berning from C Company, 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, was at FSB Neal, approximately 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) northeast of Phuoc Thien (1), where he sustained blunt force trauma to the head after a tree was blown over by the rotor wash of a helicopter. Berning was evacuated to the 2nd Brigade headquarters at FSB Buttons in Phuoc Long Province, RVN, where he was pronounced dead by 15th Medical Battalion dispensary staff. Berning, 20, was posthumously promoted to Corporal. [Sourced at coffeltdatabase.org]