| Date: 13 January 1969 |
| Aircraft type: B-57B Canberra |
| Serial Number: 52-1561 |
| Military Unit: 8 TBS, 35 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Phan Rang |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Col Norman Dale Eaton (KIA) |
| Capt Paul Everett Getchell (KIA) |
| A B-57B failed to return from a Steel Tiger night interdiction mission over southern Laos. The target area was illuminated by flares dropped by a C-130 flare ship. After the last flare had dimmed the B-57B (call sign Yellow Bird 5) began its third bombing run and reported having cleared the target but was then seen to explode as it hit the ground about 10 miles south of the A Shau Valley. Although no ejection or parachutes were seen, a faint emergency beeper was heard briefly by a FAC pilot in the area. However, a search the next day revealed no sign of the two crew members, who were presumed to have perished in the incident. The crash site was located in 1995 and an excavation in 2003 recovered Lt Col Eaton’s ID tag. Five more excavations over the next two years recovered Capt Getchell’s ID tag as well as human remains which were confirmed as being those of the crew and were subsequently buried in Arlington National Cemetery. |
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