Bern joined the Marine Corps in May of 1967 right after graduation from high school.After his basic training Bern was sent to Camp Pendleton Calif. where he was trained to be a tank repairman. In February of 1968 with the Tet Offensive President Johnson took every available Marine from Camp Pendleton regardless of their MOS training and put them into the infantry. On May 17, 1968 he was assigned a fire team leader of a search and destroy mission on Operation Allen Brook in the 3rd Platoon 3rd Bn. India Co. of the 27th Marines in Southern Quang Nam Province. A hostile enemy explosive device detonated near Bern and hopefully he was killed instantly. If I were going into a battle I would not be afraid to walk beside him, for he was a brave young Marine and a great young man. I still remember that rainy humid day in May that the Sergeant Major came to tell us Bern would not be coming back from Vietnam alive - in fact he had already been dead a whole week before they told us. That was the greatest loss our family had ever had and it is hard to believe that 58,000 families lost a son a dad or a brother to the Vietnam War. God Bless all who were lost and all who came back and all who still struggle with the memories .. until we all meet again. Love, Mona Anita, Pennsylvania Visit the full memorial to Lance Corporal Bernard Himes

 

A memorial from his sister, Mona Himes Garzoni camokid@adelphia.net  11 Nov 2000

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