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Fife Charles Earl

Name:
Charles Earl Fife
Rank:
Private First Class
Serial Number:
Unit:
2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment
Date of Death:
1971-08-18
State:
California
Cemetery:
Quiet Haven Memorial Park Cemetery, Sacramento, Sacramento County, California, USA
Plot:
Row:
Grave:
Decoration:
Comments:

Charles Earl Fife was born on November 13, 1950, in Stockton, San Joaquin County, California. He was the son of William Franklin Fife. He served in the Heavy Mortar Platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, as a Private First Class and Mortarman during the 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 Fife was among the passengers on board and now rests at Quiet Haven Memorial Park Cemetery, Sacramento, Sacramento County, California, USA.

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