Lieutenant Leonard John Schoeppner

1943 - 1970  (26 years)

• Name	Leonard John Schoeppner
  Prefix	Lieutenant
  Nickname	LT, US Navy, MIA
  Born	2 Oct 1943	Canton, Stark County, Ohio, USA
  Gender	Male
  Died	9 Mar 1970	Yankee Station, North Vietnam   [1, 2]
  Buried	Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
  Person ID	I89049	Suedpfalz
  Last Modified	15 Jun 2014

  
  

  Father	Leonard R. Schoeppner,   b. 31 Oct 1911, Youngstown, Mahoning County, Ohio, USA ,   d. 5 Oct 1989, Canton, Stark County, Ohio, USA  (Age 77 years)
  Mother	Esther E. Tabellion,   b. 4 Sep 1914, Ohio, USA ,   d. 25 Aug 1988, Canton, Stark County, Ohio, USA  (Age 73 years)
  Married	29 May 1937	Canton, Stark County, Ohio, USA
  Family ID	F39846	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Sources

  [S927] Obituary. Fromhttp://www.pownetwork.org/bios/s/s369.htmName: Leonard John SchoeppnerRank/Branch: O3/US NavyUnit: Fighter Squadron 21, USS RANGER (CVA 61)Date of Birth: 02 October 1943Home City of Record: Canton OHDate of Loss: 09 March 1970Country of Loss: North Vietnam/Over WaterLoss Coordinates: 174258N 1074658E (YE951608)Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not RecoveredCategory: 5Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4JRefno: 1571Other Personnel in Incident: Rex L. Parcels Jr. (missing)Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 May 1990 from one or more ofthe following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondencewith POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W.NETWORK 1998.REMARKS:The USS RANGER was a seasoned combat veteran, having been deployedto Vietnam for Flaming Dart I operations. The carrier played a steady rolefor the remainder of American involvement in the war. The first fighter jetsto bomb Haiphong in Operation Rolling Thunder came from her decks.One of the aircraft launched from the decks of the RANGER was the F4 Phantomfighter jet. The Phantom, used by Air Force, Marine and Navy air wings,served a multitude of functions including fighter-bomber and interceptor,photo and electronic surveillance. The two man aircraft was extremely fast(Mach 2), and had a long range (900 - 2300 miles, depending on stores andmission type). The F4 was also extremely maneuverable and handled well atlow and high altitudes. The F4 was selected for a number of state-of-the-artelectronics conversions, which improved radar intercept and computer bombingcapabilities enormously. Most pilots considered it one of the "hottest"planes around.LT Leonard J. Schoeppner and LTJG Rex L. Parcels Jr. were F4 pilots assignedto Fighter Squadron 21 onboard the USS RANGER. On March 9, 1970, the twowere assigned a photo reconnaissance escort mission in their F4J Phantom.Schoeppner was the pilot and Parcels served as the Radar Intercept Officer(RIO) on the flight.Schoeppner and Parcels launched at 1200 hours on that day. Their climboutand aerial refueling were normal. Because of low ceilings and poorvisibility in the reconnaissance aircraft's target area, the escort missionwas cancelled. Schoeppner's aircraft was diverted to their secondary missionassignment as combat air patrol for the Task Force. The reassignmentoccurred about one hour after their takeoff.Schoeppner reported his position as overhead the RANGER in the Gulf ofTonkin at 17,000 feet. He was instructed to rendezvous with another squadronF4, but he failed to contact the newly assigned control agency for therequired vector. Contact between Schoeppner's and Parcels' aircraft and theship's search radar was also lost at about this time (1330).A preliminary search was conducted, using aircraft already airborne in thevicinity of the carrier. With no success on this preliminary search, theassistance of other assets was utilized (seven destroyers, sevenhelicopters, four A7's, three OV10's, two HC130's, two E1's, one E2, oneC1A, one C131, and one P3). A thorough and detailed coverage of this largearea was attested to by a variety of non-pertinent floating debris recoveredby the SAR force, including objects as small as an old life jacket.A pilot from the HANCOCK reported that he had seen an F4-type aircraft in adive at approximately 4,000 feet. All other F4 pilots airborne at this timestated that they had not engaged in such a maneuver. The diving aircraft wasthought to possibly be that of Schoeppner and Parcels. With weatherconditions as they were, they may have inadvertently entered a maneuver,such as a dive, which carried them to an altitude too low to effect arecovery after their condition was realized.Schoeppner and Parcels are listed with honor among the Americans stillprisoner, missing or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia because their bodieswere never recovered. [S8] Information from an informant - Auskunft eines Informanten - Information d'un informateur. Proposed Change: Leonard John Schoeppner (I89049) Tree: Südpfalz / Southern Palatinate Link: http://www.birkenhoerdt.net/getperson.php?personID=I89049&tree=Suedpfalz Description: Died: Yankee Station, North Vietnam From the official record; Crash at sea, Yankee Station, North Vietnam. Also for the record; Navy Lieutenant Schoeppner was an Naval Aviator (Pilot) 'flying off' the USS RANGER, CVA 61. Wikipedia sez, "Yankee Station was a point in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of Vietnam used by the U.S. Navy aircraft carriers of Task Force 77 to launch strikes in the Vietnam War. While its official designation was "Point Yankee," it was universally referred to as Yankee Station. Carriers conducting air operations at Yankee Station were said to be "on the line" and statistical summaries were based on days on the line." Mariner's Knoll Genealogy USA Mariner's Knoll Genealogy USA