Terry L. Berg was born December 13, 1946, in Boise, Idaho. He was an only child. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1965 and served four years, until 1969. He trained in Texas and then was sent to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. He chose to go to Vietnam from there with the 377th Combat Support Group and served at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, outside Saigon, in South Vietnam. As a dog handler who went out on patrols at night, he saw combat on his second day.
Berg’s dog, Sarge, was assigned to him after his owner was killed in an attack. Sarge was a 130-pound German shepherd that patrolled the perimeter around the base with Berg. “It was a two-week fight,” he said of the dog’s adjustment to his new handler. “I wanted him to work. He wanted to eat me. He used my arm as a hot dog. It was not fun, but we worked it out eventually.” Sarge detected enemy snipers trying to creep up close to the base. He saved many lives on more than one occasion.
The 377th Air Base Wing was activated as the 377th Combat Support Group (CSG) on April 8, 1966, and assigned to Seventh Air Force, the air arm of Military Assistance Command-Vietnam (MACV). The 377 CSG was responsible for operations and maintenance of the USAF portion of Tan Son Nhut Air Base, South Vietnam, from April 8, 1966 – March 28, 1973. Responsibility included base defense and liaison with the South Vietnamese Air Force and support to Seventh Air Force. Tan Son Nhut AB underwent numerous enemy attacks during the group’s assignment there.
Berg worked a short time after his discharge at Douglas Aircraft as a parts inspector. He then attended Santa Monica Community College and graduated in 1975 from Cal State University-Long Beach with a degree in criminal justice and law enforcement, thanks to the G.I. Bill.
Later, Berg moved to the Quad Cities, worked at the Rock Island Arsenal for 24 years in supply and inventory management, and was active in the employee union. He retired in 2003. He also joined the Scott County Sheriff Reserve in 1983, serving for more than 20 years. He was a life member of the Vietnam Veterans of America Quad Cities (IL) Chapter 776 where he was proud to serve on the honor guard.
Terry Berg died of a heart attack on January 15, 2015. He now rests in Section 1, Row 0, Site 558 at Rock Island National Cemetery. Please visit his VLM page to honor his service.
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I met Airman Berg, when I was checking in to Ton Son Nhut, briefly and he was luckily checking out , we shock hands and wishes each other all the best. That was it never heard from him again.