Pimental, Edward F.

U.S. soldier

Born: June 14, 1965, in Fall River, Massachusetts (USA)

Died: August 8, 1985, in Wiesbaden

He grew up in New York City, where he trained as an auto mechanic. He then enlisted in the U.S. Army and served as an ordnance technician in the 563rd Ordnance Company. Pimental was stationed at Camp Pieri in Wiesbaden beginning in May 1985. According to his family, he liked Wiesbaden. He was curious about the German people and enjoyed making new friends.

On the evening of August 7, Pimental visited the “Western Saloon” nightclub on Dotzheimer Straße with other GIs. There he met Birgit Hogefeld, a member of the Third Generation of the Red Army Faction (RAF). She convinced him to leave the club with her. Accompanied by at least one other person, Hogefeld took Pimental to the Wiesbaden City Forest, where he was murdered with a shot to the head between Hofgut Adamsthal and Platter Straße.

The RAF members stole Pimental’s military ID, which they used shortly thereafter to gain access to the Rhein-Main Air Base at Frankfurt am Main Airport in order to carry out an attack. On the morning of August 8, 1985, just a few hours after the murder of Edward F. Pimental, a car bomb detonated there. Two people were killed, and more than 20 were seriously injured. A few days later, the RAF claimed responsibility for both attacks.

The murder of the young soldier Edward F. Pimental has not yet been fully solved; in particular, it remains unclear which RAF terrorist fired the fatal shots.

Since August 13, 2025, a memorial plaque on Carl-von-Ibell-Weg near the “Villa im Tal” in Wiesbaden’s city forest has commemorated Edward F. Pimental.