Samuel Mansfield Cherry was born on April 16, 1950, in Northbrook, Cook County, Illinois. He was the son of Walter Lorain Cherry and Virginia Ames Ballard Cherry. He served in the Heavy Mortar Platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, as a Private First Class and Mortarman during Vietnam War era.

On August 18, 1971, a U.S. Army CH-47A Chinook (tail number 66-19023) transporting troops from Ludwigsburg to the Grafenwöhr training area crashed near Pegnitz, Germany, when a decommissioned rotor blade was mistakenly reinstalled and failed mid-flight. The aircraft broke apart in the air, killing all 37 aboard, including 33 soldiers and 4 crew members, marking the deadliest peacetime U.S. military accident in
West Germany since World War II.

PFC Cherry was among the passengers on board and now rests at Winnetka Congregational Church Columbarium, Winnetka, Cook County, Illinois, USA.

Source of information: www.chinook-helicopter.com, www.findagrave.com