George Jacob Gongaware was born on May 8, 1947, in Hawaii. He was the son of Francis Lutillis Gongaware. He served in the Heavy Mortar Platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, as a Sergeant and Squad Leader 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.

Sgt Gongaware was among the passengers on board and now rests at Barrancas National Cemetery, Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida, USA.

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