GETCHMAN GEOFFREY HW

WO1 Geoffrey "Henry" HW Getchman was a VHPA member who died after his tour in Vietnam on 04/03/2016 at the age of 69.9 from Prostate cancer
Normandy Park, WA
Flight Class 66-19
Date of Birth 05/23/1946
Served in the U.S. Army
Served in Vietnam with A/2/20 ARA 1 CAV in 67, D/3/4 CAV 25 INF in 69
This information was provided by Howard Horton

More detail on this person: Geoffrey H.W. Getchman, Jr. Geoffrey H.W. Getchman, Jr. Geoffrey H.W. Getchman, Jr. passed away peacefully on April 2, 2016 after a long battle with cancer. He is survived by Cherie, his wife of 37 years, as well as a daughter, 6 sons, 2 daughters-in-law, 4 grandchildren, one great grandson and 5 siblings. He was born at Legaspi in the Philippines on May 23, 1946 and grew up in Maple Valley, graduating from Tahoma High in 1964. He served two tours in Vietnam flying helicopters and was highly decorated, one of his medals being the Distinguished Flying Cross. He also received a Purple Heart after being wounded during a combat mission. Upon his return to the states in 1970, he was hired to fly helicopters for the Seattle Police Department. When the helicopter unit was discontinued, he served as a diver for the Harbor Patrol. During his time at Harbor, he earned his degree from the University of Washington in 1978 with over 200 credit hours of science. Meanwhile he was promoted to the rank of sergeant at SPD and began work at the South Precinct. His career continued to advance when he was promoted to Lieutenant working for the Horse and Canine Unit among others. When he retired in 2002, he was hired by Sound Transit as a Security Specialist working on the Central Link Light Rail project, a job he continued in until 2011. He retired again in 2012 and spent his time as a member of the International Police Association, the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association, and Milton's VFW. Geoff and Cherie traveled extensively. A Graveside Service is scheduled at Tahoma National Cemetery 9:00 a.m., Friday, April 22. A Memorial Service will be held at John Knox Presbyterian Church in Normandy Park at 1:00 p.m. also Friday, April 22, 2016. Remembrances can be made to the Law Enforcement Memorial. He will be sorely missed by family and his many friends.

Burial information: Tahoma National Cemetery, Kent, WA

This information was last updated 11/29/2017

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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024