The Pentagon announced April 24 that DOD analysts had identified the remains of two airmen missing in action from the Vietnam War: Col. Norman D. Eaton of Weatherford, Okla., and Lt. Col. Paul E. Getchell of Portland, Maine. On Jan. 13, 1969, the two were flying a B-57B bomber during a nighttime raid in Laos and elected to make a third run even though they were low on fuel and the flares dropped by a C-130 had dimmed. The bomber crashed. A Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command team in 1995 interviewed a Laotian who had seen the crash and another surveyed the crash site. A subsequent search in 2003 found Eaton’s identification tag. Five more visits between 2004 and 2005 produced additional remains.
The incoming head of the 7th Air Force will face an intense mission while relying on 4th-generation fighters to stave off looming threats from North Korea and China.