What was going on when I was born?

MONDAY, MARCH 4, 1985 Companies Phillips Petroleum offered a new proposal to its shareholders in an effort to remain independent. The company conceded that its recapitalization plan had failed, (Page D1.) A lawyer for one of the Bank of America employees sued by the bank said the suit was brought just to get insurance money. (D6.)

For more than a decade, Phat and Sokha Mau, Cambodians living in Queens, have been piecing together bits of telegrams, accounts of telephone calls and the scattered recollections of Cambodian refugees, all in the hope of finding the son they left behind in a country now ravaged by war. On Friday, 11-year-old Sophal Mau finally came home. Sophal - whose whereabouts was confirmed in March 1983 and whose release was negotiated by Representative Stephen Solarz, a Brooklyn Democrat, on a trip to Cambodia last December - left Phnom Penh for Bangkok last Thursday. In Bangkok he was met by his father, who had never seen the child before. 'Many Children Died' Although there are more than 100,000 Cambodian refugees in the United States, State Department officials say Sophal may be the first legal emigrant from Cambodia since 1975, when Pol Pot seized control of the country.

THE Big East's seventh postseason tournament begins at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night following a regular season that was routine in one sense and rather surprising in another. St. John's replaced Georgetown as the regular-season conference champion. However, a crushing loss to the Hoyas last week convinced many that the Redmen were No. 1 in conference standings only. The loss makes an anticipated rematch between St. John's and Georgetown, the defending national champion, all the more important. But the Big East remains a conference of two houses: one for the strong, one for the weak. Yet there was interesting movement in the second division. Pittsburgh, which finished sixth last year, showed it is the Big East's team of the future, moving up to fifth place. Boston College slipped from to fifth to sixth. Seton Hall finished last for the third straight season, and there have been reports that the Pirates might be asked to leave the conference, a rumor that Dave Gavitt, the Big East commissioner, has denied.

Stefan Antel will sell you a Mercedes-Benz 500 SEL model for about $46,000, although the manufacturer's suggested list price is $51,200. This helps explain why Tyson's Motors, Mr. Antel's business in suburban Washington, is prospering. Mr. Antel is one of scores of dealers in the ''gray market'' in expensive European cars - a market that is not illegal but operates outside normal, factory-authorized channels. Because of the dollar's persistent strength and the way authorized importers price their cars, comparable models can be purchased in Europe at prices well below the stickers in American showrooms. As a result, a lively business has developed, in which unauthorized companies buy expensive cars such as Mercedes, BMW and Porsche in Europe and ship them to this country. They then convert them, more or less, to United States emission and safety standards and offer them for sale for thousands of dollars less than authorized dealers do. The cars are bought by natives of the country where the purchase is made, paid for in the currency of that country and then sold to the American companies for a price that includes a fee for the agents' services.

IT is noon on the day after his No. 1 ranked team was blown away by Georgetown University and St. John's coach, Lou Carnesecca, is in his office with members of his staff, trying hard to look ahead. The curtains are pulled to shut out the sun as he sits in front of a television, his feet resting on a coffee table, watching films of Providence, the next opponent. ''Bam, he can shoot,'' he says of a Providence player, scribbling into a notebook. ''We got to give him attention,'' says Ron Rutledge, an assistant coach. ''Run that back,'' Carnesecca says, and Rutledge stands up to put the video recorder on replay.

Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher flew to Moscow today for an unexpected meeting on Monday with his Soviet counterpart, Andrei A. Gromyko. On Wednesday the West German Foreign Minister is also due to have a hastily arranged encounter in Warsaw with the Polish leader, Wojciech Jaruzelski. ''We are at the beginning of a new development in East-West ties,'' Mr. Genscher declared before leaving for Moscow. ''We in the Federal Republic have a major interest in playing a role in East-West relations.''

Western central banks are poised for another strike, if necessary, against dollar speculators this week after making two coordinated attacks last Wednesday and Friday that cost them around $3 billion, according to European monetary officials. The central bankers' aim, these sources say, is to stamp out any fresh surge in the dollar's value before it takes hold but not necessarily to reverse the huge rise that has taken place already. The bankers believe that last week's intervention may help establish a ceiling for the dollar's value and that the threat of further coordinated dollar sales would deter speculators from bidding the United States currency any higher. Nevertheless, while the big Western central banks succeeded in knocking the dollar back sharply last Wednesday with a sale of about $1.4 billion from their reserves, they were less successful when they tried to repeat the operation on Friday.

In January 1982, Dr. Edward Teller, a physicist who played a central role in developing the hydrogen bomb, met with President Reagan to discuss new ways of trying to destroy enemy missiles and warheads during an attack. It was the first of four meetings Dr. Teller would have with the President before the ''Star Wars'' speech of March 23, 1983. In that address Mr. Reagan called on American scientists to find ways of rendering nuclear weapons ''impotent and obsolete.''

''When I think about Selma I think about blacks not being able to drink water when we were thirsty.

The Devils put together an inspired performance this evening after six consecutive losses and defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2, before a sellout crowd of 19,040 at Byrne Meadowlands Arena. The Devils showed no fear against the Flyers and dominated for the greater part of the game. They checked ferociously and closed the Flyers down near Glenn (Chico) Resch, the Devil goalie. It was primarily their failure in these two areas that had led to the six consecutive defeats.

Increases in new orders and production in February will virtually assure a healthy first quarter for the economy, although there are signs that a declining phase is beginning, the National Association of Purchasing Management said in its monthly report to be released today. In its latest survey of 250 purchasing managers of major industrial companies, the trade group said employment increased for the second consecutive month, as did inventories, which showed a modest rise. Also, for the third consecutive month, purchasing managers reported that more goods decreased in price than increased, indicating that inflation will ''not be a problem for the foreseeable future,'' the report states.

The Israeli Cabinet approved plans today for the second phase of the army's three- stage withdrawal from Lebanon. The state-run Israel radio said immediately after the Cabinet announcement that dismantling of positions had already begun, although only to a very limited extent. This phase of the withdrawal, from eastern Lebanon, is expected to take three months, but the Cabinet did not set a deadline for completion. Military officials say the timing will depend on when the bitter cold weather in that region of Lebanon breaks and when the snow begins to melt.