What was going on when I was born?

The soldiers rolling past in troop trucks barely noticed Bacilia Flores, sweeping coca leaves here beside the ''cocaine highway.'' But because of them, she cannot sell her crop. The Bolivian Army has occupied the Chapare region, where nearly a third of the world's coca leaf grows, and the soldiers have driven the cocaine traffickers away. As a result, tens of thousands of campesinos like Mrs. Flores are near revolt. The Bolivian economy is in deep trouble, too, because cocaine had become the most important commodity of foreign exchange. After the army occupation, the Bolivian peso's value fell in one day to 30 percent of its value the day before.

A Washington dispatch on Friday about Walter F. Mondale's campaign strategy misreported remarks by Robert S. Strauss, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, at a breakfast meeting with reporters. As reported, he said that the Mondale campaign had got off to a ''rocky start'' and that some Mondale aides were isolated from segments of the party. But he did not say his appointment to lead a campaign advisory group of senior Democratic leaders amounted to an acknowledgment of these faults by the Mondale campaign.

Secretary of State George P. Shultz announced today that the United States was ready to admit the thousands of Vietnamese children fathered by Americans as well as 10,000 former and current Vietnamese political prisoners from ''re-education'' camps. He appealed to Hanoi to live up to a promise to let them go. Vietnam's Prime Minister, Pham Van Dong, said in May that Hanoi would be willing to send all the so- called Amerasian children as well as the inmates of the ''re-education'' camps to the United States. He said there were 15,000 such children. Many of them are ostracized in Vietnamese society because of their skin color. Vietnamese officials have said there were about 10,000 prisoners in the ''re-education'' camps.

Nabisco Brands Inc., in the largest move thus far by a leading advertiser into cable television ownership, has agreed to buy a 20 percent interest in ESPN, the cable sports network. For its stake in the network, a subsidiary of ABC Video Enterprises, Nabisco will pay $60 million in cash, ESPN announced yesterday. Don Ohlmeyer and John Martin, the two top executives of the Ohlmeyer Communications Companies, will represent Nabisco on the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network's board of directors. Mr. Ohlmeyer and Mr. Martin have long been leading figures in televised sports programming and production. ''Nabisco Brands, rather than being just a passive advertiser, has taken an active involvement in a media vehicle that will seriously affect all advertising in the future,'' Mr. Ohlmeyer said yesterday.

YOUR tan is beginning to fade and the sun, wind and water seem to have dried out your skin and hair. So your interest in cosmetics as a means of recapturing that summer glow and restoring vitality to the surfaces you show to the world is no surprise. But how do you choose from among the staggering array of products that promise a fresh, new look? Is a $50 investment in a whole line of cosmetics really necessary, as suggested by the counselor behind the sales counter? Do you need creams enriched by hormones, proteins, RNA or collagen? Should you switch to ''natural'' cosmetics laced with avocados, cucumbers and other delectable fare? What meaningful differences are there among all the products? With some 25,000 cosmetic products on the market, it is no wonder that many women and men are confused. Yet choosing the right ones can make a significant difference to your pocketbook as well as to your skin. As Dr. Frederic Haberman, a dermatologist in New York and New Jersey, and Denise Fortino note in their book, ''Your Skin'' (Playboy paperback, $3.50), ''The wrong choice of cosmetic products can aggravate oily, dry or sensitive skin.''

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1984 International Thousands of Vietnamese children fathered by Americans and about 10,000 former and present Vietnamese political prisoners may enter the United States, Secretary of State George P. Shultz announced. He appealed to Hanoi to live up to a promise to let them go. (Page A1, Column 6.) Syria's power struggle grew confused as Defense Minister Mustafa Tlas was quoted as saying that the brother of President Hafez al-Assad was ''persona non grata forever.'' Col. Rifaat al-Assad, the brother of the ailing President, had been viewed as the probable victor in any struggle for succession. (A1:5.)

American companies plan to invest 14.3 percent more this year in new factories and equipment than they did in 1983, a large gain and in line with increases projected earlier this year, the Commerce Department reported today. Some analysts said the steadiness of the planned capital spending expansion is evidence of - or at least is consistent with - a slowdown in the exceptionally strong rate of overall economic growth. But others noted that the Government's quarterly survey significantly understates capital investment by omitting investment by foreign companies. Economists and Administration officials generally agreed that business investment, which took over from housing and consumer spending this year as the biggest factor driving the economic expansion, now 21 months old, would remain vigorous and probably would reach record levels during the current quarter.

Packing winds of more than 135 miles an hour, Hurricane Diana raked the North Carolina coast around Cape Fear early today, pushing tides up to 12 feet higher than normal and pounding the shoreline with torrential rain. But the worst of the hurricane remained offshore; the center was about 15 miles east of the coast. As of midnight, forecasters said, the storm seemed to have temporarily stalled, and they feared it might intensify before resuming its assault on the coast. Over the previous six hours, it had moved barely 10 miles.

An article and a chart yesterday on Walter F. Mondale's proposals to reduce the Federal budget deficit incorrectly described his plan for an income tax surcharge. His proposals call for a 10 percent surcharge on the taxes owed by single people on income above $70,000 a year and a 10 percent surcharge on the taxes owed by married couples on income above $100,000 a year. The surcharge would not apply to taxes owed on income up to the specified amounts.

Defense Minister Mustafa Tlas of Syria has been quoted as saying that the brother of President Hafez al-Assad is ''persona non grata forever'' in Syria. Only last March, the ailing President's brother, Col. Rifaat al-Assad, had been made one of three Syrian Vice Presidents and had been viewed as a probable victor in any power struggle for the succession. But in an interview in this week's issue of the West German news magazine Der Spiegel, General Tlas was quoted as having said of Rifaat Assad, ''If this person had not gone abroad, the army would have struck.'' 6 Supporters Reported Held The Lebanese Christian radio said today that six Syrian Army officers had been arrested on charges of supporting Rifaat Assad, who has been living in Geneva since June.

A split within the securities industry has delayed the settlement of class action suits filed against the country's largest brokerages by holders of Baldwin-United annuities, industry officials said yesterday. The three officials, all of whom sought anonymity, said Paine Webber Inc. was offering the strongest resistance to the settlement, which involves contributing money to make limited refunds to all annuity holders. Shearson Lehman/American Express Inc. was also balking at the plan, the officials said. If the two firms do not relent, some Baldwin annuity holders might find themselves receiving a smaller payment than others, depending on where they purchased the policies, the officials said.

The Army announced today that it would station a light infantry division at Fort Drum, here in one of the most economically distressed sections of northern New York. The new division, the first created by the Army since 1975 and the first to be stationed in the Northeast since World War II, will bring 7,500 soldiers and 9,700 dependents to Fort Drum, according to Army officials. In a packed American Legion hall here, six miles from Fort Drum, Representative David O'B. Martin, told cheering local officials: ''This is just the beginning. There are a lot of challenges ahead.''