SCHOEPPNER, LEONARD JOHN

Name: Leonard John Schoeppner
Rank/Branch: O3/US Navy
Unit: Fighter Squadron 21, USS RANGER (CVA 61)
Date of Birth: 02 October 1943
Home City of Record: Canton OH
Date of Loss: 09 March 1970
Country of Loss: North Vietnam/Over Water
Loss Coordinates: 174258N 1074658E (YE951608)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 5
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4J
Refno: 1571

Other Personnel in Incident: Rex L. Parcels Jr. (missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 May 1990 from one or more of
the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence
with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W.
NETWORK 2020.

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: The USS RANGER was a seasoned combat veteran, having been deployed
to Vietnam for Flaming Dart I operations. The carrier played a steady role
for the remainder of American involvement in the war. The first fighter jets
to bomb Haiphong in Operation Rolling Thunder came from her decks.

One of the aircraft launched from the decks of the RANGER was the F4 Phantom
fighter 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 and
mission type). The F4 was also extremely maneuverable and handled well at
low and high altitudes. The F4 was selected for a number of state-of-the-art
electronics conversions, which improved radar intercept and computer bombing
capabilities enormously. Most pilots considered it one of the "hottest"
planes around.

LT Leonard J. Schoeppner and LTJG Rex L. Parcels Jr. were F4 pilots assigned
to Fighter Squadron 21 onboard the USS RANGER. On March 9, 1970, the two
were 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 climb out
and aerial refueling were normal. Because of low ceilings and poor
visibility in the reconnaissance aircraft's target area, the escort mission
was cancelled. Schoeppner's aircraft was diverted to their secondary mission
assignment as combat air patrol for the Task Force. The reassignment
occurred about one hour after their takeoff.

Schoeppner reported his position as overhead the RANGER in the Gulf of
Tonkin at 17,000 feet. He was instructed to rendezvous with another squadron
F4, but he failed to contact the newly assigned control agency for the
required vector. Contact between Schoeppner's and Parcels' aircraft and the
ship's search radar was also lost at about this time (1330).

A preliminary search was conducted, using aircraft already airborne in the
vicinity of the carrier. With no success on this preliminary search, the
assistance of other assets was utilized (seven destroyers, seven
helicopters, four A7's, three OV10's, two HC130's, two E1's, one E2, one
C1A, one C131, and one P3). A thorough and detailed coverage of this large
area was attested to by a variety of non-pertinent floating debris recovered
by 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 a
dive at approximately 4,000 feet. All other F4 pilots airborne at this time
stated that they had not engaged in such a maneuver. The diving aircraft was
thought to possibly be that of Schoeppner and Parcels. With weather
conditions as they were, they may have inadvertently entered a maneuver,
such as a dive, which carried them to an altitude too low to effect a
recovery after their condition was realized.

Schoeppner and Parcels are listed with honor among the Americans still
prisoner, missing or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia because their bodies
were never recovered. Others who are missing do not have such clear cut
cases. Some were known captives; some were photographed as they were led by
their guards. Some were in radio contact with search teams, while others
simply disappeared.

Since the war ended, over 250,000 interviews have been conducted with those
who claim to know about Americans still alive in Southeast Asia, and several
million documents have been studied. U.S. Government experts cannot seem to
agree whether Americans are there alive or not. Distracters say it would be
far too politically difficult to bring the men they believe to be alive
home, and the U.S. is content to negotiate for remains.

Over 1000 eye-witness reports of living American prisoners were received by
1989.  Most of them are still classified. If, as the U.S. seems to believe,
the men are all dead, why the secrecy after so many years? If the men are
alive, why are they not home?

 

Subject: Another exhibit
Date: Sun, 21 Nov 2021 16:56:36 -0500
From: Rob Doremus


<https://www.stripes.com/history/2021-11-15/maps-air-museum-mia-pilot-jack-=
schoeppner-3628949.html#>


<https://www.stripes.com/history/2021-11-15/maps-air-museum-mia-pilot-jack-
schoeppner-3628949.html#>


<https://www.stripes.com/history/2021-11-15/maps-air-museum-mia-pilot-jack-
schoeppner-3628949.html#>


<https://www.stripes.com/history/2021-11-15/maps-air-museum-mia-pilot-jack-
schoeppner-3628949.html#>


<https://www.stripes.com/history/2021-11-15/maps-air-museum-mia-pilot-jack-
schoeppner-3628949.html#>

Hundreds of military members were reported missing in action during the
Vietnam War,  of them, over 70, were Ohioans but the fighter plane housed
within the MAPS Air Museum in Green, Ohio, has a special connection to one
MIA Canton Township native: Jack Schoeppner.

Two of Schoeppner's dreams were to attend college and become a naval pilot,
so he joined the Navy and achieved both goals.

On March 7, 1970, Lt. Jack Schoeppner and Lt. Rex Lewis Parcels, his radar
intercept officer, were assigned a photo reconnaissance escort mission in
their F-4 Phantom. After taking off from an aircraft carrier, they
disappeared over the Gulf of Tonkin in North Vietnam. The pair were later
reported missing in action.

After 51 years, the thought of finding any physical connection to
Schoeppner seemed nearly impossible to his family. But that all changed two
years ago.

In 2019, MAPS officials informed the naval pilot's siblings, Barb
Aman and Rich Schoeppner, that it would dedicate a different F-4 Phantom ,
the one housed in the museum,in memory of Jack Schoeppner and Parcels.

It wasn't until six months later that museum volunteers realized Schoeppner
had piloted that very plane only three days before his disappearance.

That's when it got really sentimental to us," "Aman said."Out of all the
thousands of planes that [the military] manufactured, that this one
happened to make its way back to Canton and that Jack actually flew it."

The connection was discovered in his flight book, given to the museum by
Aman, where Schoeppner had recorded the takeoff and landing of each flight
he made in addition to the serial number of the aircraft he piloted.

Documents showed that same MAPS jet went up to search for Schoeppner and
Parcels when they disappeared on that fateful day in Vietnam, according
to Beacon Journal partner News 5 Cleveland.

The 56,000-pound F-4 Phantom was loaned to MAPS from the Navy in 2003 and
has since been restored. Now, the jet plane has "CLt. Chops Schoeppner"
(Chops was Schoeppner's call sign, or nickname) printed on its canopy and
the word "Freelancers" near its rear, a tribute to his squadron group.

All these additions were on display during the museum's Veterans
Day celebration Saturday evening. Three of its 260 attendees were
Aman, Rich Schoeppner and Lt. Col. Judith Mathewson, Parcels' cousin. The
highlight of the event was when Aman and Mathewson spoke fondly about what
it was like to grow up with the two men.

Aman began with her first memory of Schoeppner, recounting how he saved
their brother's life after Rich had ridden his bike into a family member's
in-ground pool. Shenanigans involving darts, a record player and drag
racing were also shared with the audience.

The main goal of MAPS, which stands for Military Aviation Preservation
Society, is to preserve and share the history of military aviation while
honoring those who died in the line of duty. Hence, after the dedication,
attendees were given additional time to explore the museum before it closed
for the night.

As they explored, some eventgoers discovered that the museum's lobby houses
a dedication to another Canton Township native who died in the Vietnam
War. Sharon Lane was a graduate of Canton South High School who, while
serving as a nurse in the army, became the only female combat casualty that
the U.S. suffered in Vietnam.

Another odd coincidence at the museum has to do with Lane.

Around seven years ago, a section of The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall,
a 300-foot reproduction of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. , broke
off and was donated to MAPS. When the organization received panel 23W,
volunteers were stunned to see Lane's name listed near its bottom. The wall
piece is now on display next to Lane's exhibit.

Veterans and civilians, including children on field trips from local
schools, will be able to learn and appreciate Schoeppner's and Parcels'
stories for years to come, much to the delight of their families.

"After Rich, our cousins and I have passed, there is no one else that we
could give all of Jack's memorabilia to," Aman said. "So, for [MAPS] to do
this means that Jack's story will continue on after we are gone. I "think
that to me is the most important thing, that he won't be forgotten."

Fly Navy

Lock 'em up!
In God we trust

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

02/2020

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000KZ39EAG

LT LEONARD JOHN SCHOEPPNER

Return to Service Member Profiles

On March 9, 1970, an F-4J Phantom II (bureau number 155775, call sign "Sundown 112") with two crew members launched from the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CVA 61) for a radar intercept training mission. The pilot was directed to switch frequency and controlling agency, and to rendezvous with another aircraft. When "Sundown 112" responded "Roger," his response was garbled. All radar and radio contact was lost after this acknowledgement, as the aircraft flew over (GC) 48Q YE 951 608. Although an extensive aerial search was conducted, the aircraft was not seen again.

Lieutenant Leonard John Schoeppner, who joined the U.S. Navy from Ohio, served with Fighter Squadron 21 embarked aboard the USS Ranger (CVA 61). He was the pilot of the Phantom when it disappeared, and his remains were not recovered. Today, Lieutenant Schoeppner is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. 

Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.

If you are a family member of this serviceman, DPAA can provide you with additional information and analysis of your case. Please contact your casualty office representative.

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