Kristi Rapach grew up in a patriotic family. Her mother worked as a nurse for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for three decades, her grandfather was a Korean War veteran, an uncle was a Seabee in the Navy, her spouse was active-duty Air Force, and her father served in Vietnam in the early 1970s.
Just prior to Memorial Day, their patriotism reached a new level when Rapach’s father, Bob Russell, was invited to fly with dozens of other fellow military veterans to the nation’s capital for an up-close look at the memorials built in their honor.
The Honor Flight departed from Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois (MWA) where Rapach happens to be a TSA officer, so she had one of the honors of her life to screen her dad and send him off on the special trip to Washington.
“I served as travel document checker during the Honor Flight screening, so I was able to interact and wish all the veterans a wonderful day and thank them for their service,” said Rapach. “One of my cousins also served as a guardian to another set of veterans.”
Rapach isn’t used to seeing so many people visit her small airport and go through the TSA checkpoint. Before boarding their plane, the veterans were treated to breakfast and a send-off celebration. Rapach’s son, Jack, also had the honor of participating. Jack is an explorer with the Williamson County Fire Department, which provides fire protection for MWA, and was on the tarmac assisting as the group prepared to leave.
Rapach, who joined TSA in 2017, said her dad was extremely excited about going.
“He was on standby for a Fall 2024 flight, so we knew he would be on this one,” she said. “It’s all he could talk about. He would get so emotional about this trip. He was anxious, because he hadn’t been on an airplane since 1978, and I was happy he got this opportunity.”
While in Vietnam, Russell was stationed at Da Nang Air Base just 100 miles from the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone, providing security along the perimeter of the base.
“We were the last line of defense if we were overwhelmed,” Russell recalled. “We had towers around the base with M60s (automatic machine guns). If the base was evacuated, we would have been the last to leave.”
Russell described the Honor Flight experience as “very memorable” with an amazing flight team but said the trip to Washington brought back some rough memories, especially when visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and what’s going through his mind with this coming weekend’s Memorial Day commemoration.
“There were three classmates on the wall,” said Russell. “It was hell. I display a line of flags on my property at home.”
Russell was surprised he made the front page of the local newspaper in Marion, Illinois, but was especially honored his daughter was part of the TSA team at MWA to screen him and send him on his flight.
“It was amazing, honorable,” emphasized Russell, who was stationed at Andrews Air Force Base just outside Washington after returning to the U.S. in 1971 and provided security for Air Force One.
“He never really talked about his time in Vietnam, so I didn’t often think about him being there while I was younger,” Rapach noted. “I was always instilled, though, with the value of honoring our veterans.”
As Memorial Day approaches this weekend, it’s a great reminder for all of us to reflect on those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and appreciate the freedoms we enjoy today because of their service.
By Don Wagner, TSA Strategic Communications & Public Affairs