CWO STEWART B GOLDBERG CWO STEWART B GOLDBERG

 

26 Sep 1999 I would like to hear from guys who knew Stewart from WORWAC 67-21, the 525th Military Intelligence Group, or the unit he served with on his first tour in Vietnam. From his sister, Linda Finecey linnfin@qwest.net

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall On 25 July 1969 a UH-1H (tail number 67-17533) from the 525th Military Intelligence Group conducted an administrative flight which included a stop at Ban Me Thout before continuing on to Pleiku City. The cloud ceiling was about 450 feet above ground level on departure from Ban Me Thout, well below the 1000 feet required by the 525th's operating procedures, but the pilot in command decided it was practical to make the flight by maintaining visual flight conditions just below the overcast and following Highway 14. As the Huey flew toward Pleiku a combination of rising ground and lowering ceiling forced the aircraft to reduce its altitude to approximately 50 feet AGL. As it approached Dragon Mountain visibility rapidly deteriorated, and the pilot took control of the aircraft, slowed to about 80 knots, and initiated a right turn, apparently intending to reverse course and regain visual flight conditions. Instead, the aircraft struck the side of Dragon Mountain on a 50 to 60 degree slope, slid about 60 meters uphill, flipped end-over-end, and rolled about 30 meters back down the hill where it came to rest, upside down, and burned. Eight of the ten men aboard were killed in the crash; the copilot and crew chief were the only survivors: Aircrew, 525th MI Group: CWO Stewart B. Goldberg, Baltimore, MD, pilot WO T. F. Devereux, copilot (survived) SGT R. Munkvold, crew chief (survived) SP4 David M. Valdez, Los Angeles, CA, gunner, 2nd MI Bn (Prov), 525th MI Grp Passengers: CPT Elvernon Peele, Williamston, NC, 525th MI Grp CPT Arthur T. Pfefer, St Paul, MN, 525th MI Grp CPT Vincent F. Sabatinelli, Southbridge, MA, FOB-4, CCN, MACV-SOG, 5th SF Grp SFC Jay L. Everett, Latrobe, PA, Det E, 135th MI Grp SGT Gerald E. Du Beau, Springfield, IL, Sig Det, 519th MI Bn, 525th MI Grp SP4 Ronald K. Dycks, Cleveland, OH, 21st S&S CO, USA Spt Cmd Cam Ranh Bay The photo above was provided by Mr. Tom Zangla, 525th MI Group, who says "The picture shows the helicopter that he flew and it also shows the mountain (Dragon Mountain) in the background that the helicopter crashed into when it was fogged in a few months after I took this picture."

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