Edward A. Monnin Jr. was born on August 1, 1948, in Buffalo, New York. He was the son of Edward A. Monnin Sr. and Irene M. Sullivan Monnin. He was the husband of Kathy Monnin. He graduated from Bishop Ryan High School in 1966. 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 Monnin was among the passengers on board and is now buried in the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cemetery, Elma, Erie County, New York, USA.

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