Getchell, Paul Everett
Air Force Lieutenant Colonel

Paul Everett Getchell, age 42, from Portland, Maine, Cumberland county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: January 13, 1969
Death details: Lieutenant Colonel Getchell entered the U.S. Air Force from Maine and was a member of the 8th Tactical Bombardment Squadron. On January 13, 1969, he copiloted a B-57B Canberra on a night combat mission against enemy targets in Slavan Province, Laos. The target area was illuminated by flares from a C-130 flare ship; however, the flares dimmed as the B-57 began its third bombing run on the target. Reporting they were low on fuel, the crew continued their attack run without illumination. The C-130 crew received a radio transmission indicating that the B-57 was off-target, and seconds later, the plane crashed, killing Lt Col Getchell and the other crew member. Their remains could not be recovered at the time of the incident. However, between 1995 and 2005, excavations recovered material evidence and human remains from the crash site. Modern forensic techniques were eventually able to identify Lt Col Getchell from the remains recovered.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency