Henry Lamar Pittard Jr. was born on December 5, 1947, in Athens, Clarke County, Georgia. He was the son of Henry Lamar Pittard Sr. and Hazel H. Pittard. He served in the Heavy Mortar Platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, as a First Lieutenant and Platoon 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.

1Lt Pittard, who was among the passengers on board and is now buried in the Evergreen Memorial Park, Athens, Clarke County, Georgia, USA.

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