First Lieutenant Hatchitt was the pilot of a F-86E Sabre Jet Fighter-Bomber with the 25th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 51st Fighter-Interceptor Group. On February 4, 1952, while on a combat mission, his aircraft developed engine trouble. He headed toward Cho-do Island, North Korea and tried to bail out but was unsuccessful. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.