An emotional meeting with the president
Chassidy DeRoode, the guest speaker during Veterans Day ceremonies at Minneota Public School and also at St. Edward's School on Monday, retired nearly a year ago from the Air Force after 20 years of service.
"If someone said to me that they were considering entering the military, I would highly encourage it," she said.
"I think everyone should in some capacity."
DeRoode, who was an "Army Brat" and lived with her family in two continents and four states before she was even in sixth grade, and her husband Adam, who grew up in Ghent, both joined the Air Force on the same day and left for basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas on Nov. 19, 1997, although they didn't know each at the time.
Their paths would cross several times in the first few years and eventually fate brought them together in Germany after being in the Air Force for 10 years.
After dating for 18 months, they married in July 2010. Their daughter Avery was born a year later in Clovis, NM, and son Colton was born in Belleville, IL, in 2013.
After serving their country for 20 years and 12 days, the DeRoodes both retired on Nov. 30, 2017. "It makes me very proud," said DeRoode when asked how she feels serving that many years.
"My children will both know that we served our country for a long time. And we would do it all over again." The DeRoodes now live in Ghent and recently purchased the 117-year-old former St. Agnes Convent School and are renovating it for their own home, although they are going to return the outside to its original appearance as much as possible.
Chassidy told those in attendance during the Veterans Day programs about her time in the Air Force and the many missions she flew as an Aerospace Medical Technician in two MAJCOMS (Major Command); Charleston Air Force Base, SC (Air Mobility Command, AMC), where she started her career and was known as a “floor technician”. She also served at Cannon AFB, NM (Air Force Special Operations Command, AFSOC), where she was a flight chief.
On July 10, 2007, DeRoode was assigned to the 86th Aeromedical Squadron when she got a surprise that she still considers the proudest moment of her military life.
Following a mission from Ramstein Air Base in Germany to pick up injured service members, the aircraft DeRoode was on landed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. "We were sitting in the aircraft with some patients next to me and we were waiting for a place to park," she recalled.
"The door to the plane opened and in walks President (George W.) Bush. I remember that my mouth just dropped." DeRoode, then Chassidy Dority, had her picture taken with President Bush. "He thanked me for my service, shook my hand and put his arm around me as we took the photo," she noted.
"He had landed at the base on Air Force One and had decided to come over and get on our plane." DeRoode said Bush took the time to talk to each of the soldiers, thanking them for their service, and give them each a presidential coin.
“I remember so vividly that he was talking to a double-amputee soldier who had lost both legs," she recalled.
"After he shook the soldier's hand, the president told him, 'Dude, we'll get you the best damn legs we can'.” "He then kissed the soldier on the forehead. It was very emotional and we all cried. I'll never forget that."
DeRoode was deployed numerous times to several countries during her time in the Air Force.
She personally transported hundreds of injured service members on various aircraft. In all, Master Sergeant DeRoode logged 474 combat hours and she flew over 750 missions that totaled 1,995.6 flight hours.
She worked as a medic in a medical facility for six years and then served 14 of her 20 years as an Aeromedical Evacuation Technician. She said that her greatest satisfaction came from personally transporting hundreds of injured service members back home to their families.
President George W. Bush thanked Chassidy (Dority) DeRoode for her service to the country on July 10, 2007 after she flew a medical mission from Ramstein Air Base in Gemany to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. DeRoode was assigned to the 86th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron.