MOECKEL

Posted by Cathy Gowdy on Sunday, January 20, 2008 at 05:28:39 :

Independent Journal
Wednesday, April 22, 1959
Page 1

Father of 7 Found Dead In Wrecked Jet

A wrecked F104 Starfighter and its dead pilot, Capt. Raymond M. Moeckel of Novato, were located this afternoon in the hills about one mile north of Indian Valley Golf Course.

Col. Louis W. Ford, commander of the 78th Fighter Group, and Lt. Col. John W. Bennett, commander of the 83rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron, landed at the crash scene and identified the pilot, father of seven. The pilot was still inside the wrecked jet.

The jet was spotted this morning by an SA16 Albatross from the 41st Air Rescue Squadron after a widespread search since Monday night when Moeckel lost contact with the air base.

A veteran of 15 years in the Air Force, Moeckel belonged to the 83rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Hamilton.

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Independent Journal
Thursday, April 23, 1959
Page 6

HAFB Plans Rites For Dead Pilot

Funeral services will be held Monday in St. Louis, Mo., for Capt. Raymond M. Moeckel of Hamilton Air Force Base, who was killed Monday night in the crash of an F104 Starfighter about a mile north of Novato’s Indian Valley Golf Course.

At 9:30 a.m. Monday, timed to coincide with the funeral, Hamilton will hold a memorial service in the base chapel, with military honors, for Captain Moeckel.

A group of his comrades from the 83rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron will fly a “one plane missing” formation over Hamilton during the service.

The funeral will be in the Messiah Lutheran Church in St. Louis, with burial in the Jefferson Barracks, National Cemetery. A group of planes from Scott Air Force Base at Belleville, Ill., will fly a missing plane formation over the cemetery during the burial service.

Captain Moeckel is survived by his widow, Mrs. Wilma Moeckel, and seven children. The family lives at 551 Midway boulevard, Noato.

His body was found yesterday in the crashed Starfighter, after an intensive air-ground-water search which began shortly after 8 p.m. Monday when Captain Moeckel, returning from a night training flight, lost radio contact with Hamilton as he entered a landing pattern over Pt. Reyes.