Monuments
Fischelhöhe Memorial Information Board
Fischelhöhe Memorial Stone -Pegnitz CH-47A Chinook Crash
Pegnitz CH-47A (66-19023) Rotor Blade
Pegnitz CH-47A Chinook Crash Memorial Plaque
Victims of the Pegnitz CH-47A Chinook Crash Plaque
Noel Velez was born on December 8, 1950. 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 Velez, who was among the passengers on board and is now buried in the San Sebastian Memorial Park, San Sebastian, San Sebastián Municipality, Puerto Rico, USA.
Source of information: www.chinook-helicopter.com, www.findagrave.com