A Tribute:  Kenneth Clay Berrier

 

The following information is taken from the "Find A Grave" web site, and was compiled and added to the site by Tom Reese, who has collected information on those individuals from North Carolina who died in Vietnam.

17 May 1968

PFC Kenneth Clay "Ken" Berrier

Birth:    Mar. 23, 1947, Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, North Carolina, USA

Death:   May 17, 1968, Bin Duong, Vietnam


PFC Kenneth Clay Berrier was a member of the Army Selective Service and a Draftee.  PFC Berrier served our country until May 17th, 1968 in Binh Duong, South Vietnam.  He was 21 years old and was not married.  It was reported that Kenneth died from multiple fragmentation wounds or mine.  His body was recovered.  PFC Berrier is on panel 61E, line 024 of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C.  He served our country for less than a year.

"On May 17 we were on a sweep close to the Saigon River.  Our platoon was on point.  A chopper dropped a smoke grenade that spooked a VC soldier hidden in a spider hole.  He opened up with his AK-47 on the point Ernie, Roy and a boy from Michigan named Smith.  Smith was the most seriously wounded.  Roy was hit in the back while he was throwing grenades.  Ernie's weapon, an M-79, was totally removed from its stock.  When I saw Ernie, he was holding his mechanism.  He looked as if he was in shock.  Then Roy walked out.  I thought he was all right, but he said he got hit in the back.  Smith was carried out on a poncho.  All three got picked up by a chopper.

We engaged the enemy and lost two more new men.  Davis from Maryland and Kenneth Berrier from North Carolina, who had been manning the M-60.  We pulled back about a half mile.  Thousand-pound bombs were dropped on the enemy position.  The bombs falling from the aircraft looked like boxcars.  We formed up and made one of those insane on-line assaults, lost another man, and were withdrawn from the field.  They brought in another Company from our battalion, but they had as little success as we did.  The next day, they swept the area and found a bunker complex and a .51 caliber anti-aircraft weapon."

He was my friend as well as my cousin.   Otis McCoin, Thomasville, N.C.

He was the son of Mr and Mrs Clay P Berrier, Winston-Salem, NC.

He served with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, "Golden Dragons", 25th Infantry Division, "Tropic Lightning", USARV.

He was awarded the Purple Heart Medal for his combat related wounds, the Vietnam Service Medal, The Republic of Vietnam Campaign Service Medal, The National Defense Service Medal and the Good Conduct Medal.

2/14th First Person Accounts:  A Tribute:  Kenneth Clay Berrier
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Last modified: May 19, 2011