Mccoy, Meril Olen Jr.
Navy Lieutenant

Meril Olen Jr. Mccoy, age 23, from North, California, Sacramento county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Tuesday, December 15, 1970
Death details: On December 15, 1970, a C-2A Greyhound (bureau number 155120) carrying six crew and passengers launched from the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CVA 61) in the South China Sea. About ten seconds after launch, the aircraft stalled and crashed into the sea. Search and rescue units responded immediately but there were no survivors. Searchers were able to retrieve the remains of two of the men aboard the aircraft, but the other four could not be recovered. Lieutenant Meril Olen McCoy Jr., who entered the U.S. Navy from California, served with Fleet Tactical Support Squadron 50 and was the pilot of this Greyhound at the time of its loss. He was not recovered after the crash and remains unaccounted for. Today, Lieutenant McCoy is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives., Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com