Selflessness of Service He was on combat patrol in Vietnam’s Cam Lo Valley in the spring of 1968 when his platoon came under enemy fire. A Navy corpsman, his job was simple - keep his comrades alive during combat. Crawling down the line, he felt something strike him in the back. He paused momentarily, but did not falter. Moments later, while treating a wounded Marine, he was hit it again. Driven, he kept going. He then spent several hours moving the injured to where medical evacuation (medivac) helicopters could fly them out of harm’s way. Robert Berns was a 21-year-old corpsman. He didn’t know it at the time, but he had a bullet lodged against his spine. More visible, another round had ripped through his hand. He was lucky to be alive. The Marines in his platoon, however, were even luckier he was there to save them. In the heat of battle, Berns was devoted to something bigger than himself. “I was strongly committed to my Marines,” said Berns, a native of Youngstown, Ohio. “We were all there together with a job to do and my commitment was to aid injured Marines.” For his wounds, but mainly for his heroism, he would later be awarded the Purple Heart.
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WWW.SanDiegoVeteransMagazine.com / AUGUST 2021
August is the month when the United States pays tribute to those wounded or killed in combat. National Purple Heart Day is observed each year on Aug. 7 to commemorate the creation of the oldest American decoration for military merit. Initiated by General George Washington in 1782, the Purple Heart is presented to service members for any singularly meritorious action on the battlefield. The award also symbolizes the courage and devotion of the American patriot. Berns’ action in combat more than embodied the bravery and selflessness of an American patriot. In 1963, Bob Werner lied about his age, and at 16 enlisted in the Navy. Joining the Navy was something he always wanted to do. Like Berns, Werner was also a combat corpsman assigned to a Marine unit in Vietnam. “It was a viciously hot and humid day,” reflected Werner on a Marine patrol in 1965 near Da Nang. “Suddenly we started taking small-arms fire. A mortar landed just a few feet in front on me and the next thing I knew I was laying on my back in a rice paddy.
Bob Werner
