Jeffrey Mathias Vickerman was born on August 17, 1948, in Hennepin County, Minnesota. He was the son of Glenard Leroy Vickerman Jr. and Rose Mary Emma Barthel Vickerman. He was a graduate of St. Cloud State College and was drafted in October 1947 and sent to Germany at the end of March. 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 Vickerman, who was among the passengers on board and is now buried in the Saint George's Cemetery, Long Lake, Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA.

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