Scherdin, Robert Francis
Army Staff sergeant

Robert Francis Scherdin, age 21, from Somerville, New Jersey.

Schools: Somerville High (1965)

Date of death: Sunday, December 29, 1968
Death details: Private First Class (PFC)  Robert Francis Scherdin entered the U.S. Army from New Jersey and served with Command & Control North, 5th Special Forces Group. On December 29, 1968, he was the assistant team leader of a reconnaissance patrol in Cambodia when his group, the patrol’s rear element, came under heavy enemy fire. The lead element was extracted a short time later, followed by all the men in the rear element; however, after extraction, PFC Scherdin was discovered to be missing. He was not seen again and his remains were never recovered. Subsequent to the incident, and while carried in the status of missing in action (MIA), the U.S. Army promoted PFC Sherdin to the rank of Staff Sergeant (SSG). Later, the U.S. Army posthumously promoted Staff Sergeant Sherdin to the rank of Sergeant First Class (SFC). Today, Sergeant First Class Scherdin is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, New Jersey Vietnam Vetarans, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency