Staff Sergeant Mitchell was the tail gunner of a B-26B Invader bomber with the 13th Bomber Squadron, 3rd Bomber Wing. On January 14, 1951, while on a night intruder mission, his aircraft was struck by enemy anti-aircraft fire. He bailed out about two miles west of Hammondg-ni. He was listed as Missing in Action and was presumed dead on December 31, 1954. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.