Pete Schoeffel Oral History

Pete Schoeffel served aboard Intrepid as an attack aviator, first with VA-66 from August 1961 to March 1962, and then with VA-15 from April 1966 to November 1966 and May 1967 to October 1967. Schoeffel began his interview by discussing his childhood in Washington, D.C., one location where his father served as a naval officer. He then discussed his graduation from the United States Naval Academy in 1954, and his experience serving aboard a destroyer minelayer early in his naval career, noting the experiences that he had as well as how he learned about life in the Navy. Schoeffel then explained flight training, his selection for attack aircraft, aircraft technology, and how he developed a lifelong enthusiasm for his profession. The interview then shifted to joining VA-66, a squadron that would be assigned to Intrepid for a Mediterranean cruise, and Schoeffel discussed life aboard Intrepid and the nuclear missions practiced by the squadron. Schoeffel then noted his return to the United States, which eventually saw him working for the Navy in Washington, D.C. during the Vietnam War. He also stated that he was soon assigned to another squadron, VA-15, and that he would once again be serving aboard Intrepid, this time for two cruises to Vietnam in 1966 and 1967. Schoeffel described the different missions that he flew, including the mission when he was shot down south of Haiphong. He stated that he spent five and a quarter years as a prisoner of war and discussed his experience as a POW. After explaining his time as a prisoner of war, Schoeffel recounted the time the POWs learned they were going home. He noted their reactions to this news and described his trip back to the United States. Schoeffel then stated that he returned home to his parents in Florida, married, and continued his career in the Navy. He ended his interview by discussing the rest of his naval career and stating that he retired from the Navy in 1982.