USS Schofield ( FFG - 3 ) USS " Schofield " ( FFG - 3 ) was a laid down on 15 April 1963 by the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Co . , Seattle , Washington and launched on 7 December 1963 . The ship was sponsored by Mrs . F . Perry Schofield and commissioned on 11 May 1968 , Comdr . Earl H . Graffam in command . The ship was named after US Navy Admiral Frank Herman Schofield . The original First Lieutenant was LTJG Lee Witham . " Schofield " received four battle stars for service in Vietnam . Operational history . Pacific . Following shakedown , " Schofield " conducted training exercises , both independently and with her squadron , Destroyer Squadron 23 , out of her home port of Long Beach , California . With the new year , 1969 , she participated in 1st Fleet exercises ; and , at the end of March , she headed across the Pacific for her first WestPac deployment . On 24 April , the guided missile escort ship joined the 7th Fleet . On 7 May , she commenced operations with in the Gulf of Tonkin . A week later , she put into Subic Bay ; then , after upkeep , she joined other 7th Fleet units in " Operation Sea Spirit " , a combined SEATO exercise terminated on 3 June following the collision of and . On 17 June , " Schofield " moved back into the Gulf of Tonkin , remaining into July . On the 6th , she departed the area and headed for Japan where she participated in a joint United States Navy - Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force exercise ; then , toward the end of the month , she again set a course for the South China Sea . " Schofield " returned to the Gulf of Tonkin on the 27th and , for the next two weeks , operated with . A visit to Hong Kong followed . On 22 August , she returned to Subic Bay ; and , in early September , she moved north for patrol duty in the Taiwan Strait . On the night of the 8th , she steamed to the assistance of caught in heavy seas away and unable to transfer fuel to her engine . By the time " Schofield " arrived , the minecraft was dead in the water . At daybreak , however , " Schofield " took " Warbler " in tow and headed for Kaohsiung , whence she returned to patrol duty . Three days later , " Schofield " continued north to Japan ; participated in Hunter - killer Group exercises ; then sailed for Hong Kong , where , for two weeks , she served as station ship . On 23 October , she returned to Japan ; and , on 6 November , she headed home . " SS Connecticut " rescue . Arriving at Long Beach on 21 October 1969 , " Schofield " remained in port for most of the remainder of the year . In January 1970 , she resumed her antisubmarine warfare exercises off the California coast . Early on the morning of the 9th , the exercises with her squadron and were interrupted to assist a merchant tanker , , reported to be sinking approximately away . En route to the scene , " Schofield " refueled " Hornet " helicopter s delivering rescue personnel and equipment to the tanker . Two of " Schofield ' s " men , EMCS P . L . Kidd and BT1 A . E . Personette , were transferred to the tanker . The tanker ' s master commended the work in saving the ship . When " Schofield " arrived on the scene late in the afternoon , the situation was under control . That evening , the exercises were resumed . At mid - month , " Schofield " returned to Long Beach and entered the naval shipyard there for a yard period which took her into March . Squadron exercises , target ship duty , missile firing exercises , and a reservist training cruise followed . In July , she again entered the shipyard for boiler overhaul work ; and , in October , she resumed her 1st Fleet operating schedule . On 7 January 1971 , " Schofield " headed west . Into February , she conducted exercises in Hawaiian waters , then returned to the west coast for " Operation Admixture " , a joint United States - Canadian exercise . During the exercise , " Schofield " added mothership duties for the experimental hydrofoil , , to her helicopter inflight refueling , plane guard , and escort responsibilities . The exercise was completed on 4 March . " Schofield " then returned briefly to Long Beach ; and , on the 11th , she departed the California coast for the western Pacific . Steaming in company with ASW ( Antisubmarine Warfare ) Group 3 , she joined the 7th Fleet on the 26th . On 3 and 4 April , she operated off the Vietnamese coast ; and , on the 7th , she arrived in Subic Bay . Five days later , the group got underway for Singapore , whence they proceeded into the Indian Ocean for antisubmarine warfare exercises . At the end of the month , the ships sailed for Hong Kong ; and , on the 11th , they got underway for Japan . After repairs at Yokosuka , " Schofield " participated in the first major United States task force exercise in the Sea of Japan in several years ; then , on 17 June , she sailed for home . Proceeding north , she participated in antisubmarine warfare exercises between Attu and Kamchatka . On 5 July , she arrived at Long Beach . In August , she began preparations for her first major overhaul . On 1 September , she shifted her home port to San Diego ; and , on 8 September , she entered the Long Beach Naval Shipyard for an extended overhaul which took her into 1972 . The overhaul was completed on 6 June 1972 , and " Schofield " sailed to her new home port , San Diego . The next three months were spent in refresher training and various exercises , including two successful launchings of her TARTAR missiles at the Pacific Missile Range . Vietnam . On 9 September , " Schofield " departed San Diego for her third tour with the 7th Fleet . After brief stops at Pearl Harbor , Midway Island , Guam , and Subic Bay , she joined TU 77 . 0 . 1 in the Tonkin Gulf on 8 October . She received her first bombardment mission of the deployment 20 days later and fired all night . On 30 October , she departed the area for Kaohsiung and a period of upkeep . She was back on station in the Tonkin Gulf from 9 November to 8 December for another line period . She then visited Hong Kong and Sasebo before returning to the firing line on New Year ' s Day , 1973 . " Schofield " acted as a picket ship until mid - January when she was assigned to provide fire support . She fired daily missions until the 26th when she departed for Subic Bay . She returned to " Yankee Station " on 13 February and learned that , due to the cessation of hostilities , her WestPac deployment was to be reduced one month . On 15 February , she sailed for Yokosuka and San Diego , arriving at her home port on 9 March . During a period of restricted availability between April and September , " Schofield " received extensive helicopter facilities to enable her to operate the SH - 2 LAMPS ( Light Airborne Multi - Purpose System ) helicopter . She held sea trials in October , firing exercises in early November ; and , on the 23d , she was underway for the western Pacific . " Schofield " participated in exercises at Pearl Harbor and Midway Island before entering Subic Bay on 18 December . Four days later , she departed for Singapore with orders to continue from there to the Indian Ocean and conduct surveillance operations . She returned to San Diego on 6 June 1974 . Fate . " Schofield " was decommissioned on 8 September 1988 and stricken from the Navy register on 25 January 1992 . The ship was sunk as a target on 2 November 1999 , SW of Point Conception , NW of San Miguel Island at 34 16 N - - 120 48 W .