Air Force
Air National Guard troops deployed to Washington help family reunite with child
Stars and Stripes
October 9, 2025
U.S. Air Force Airman Devontae Taylor, left, and Tech. Sgt. Richard Kramer pose with a civilian family that they helped reunite after the family’s 14-year-old son ran off in the crowded National Mall. (Renee Seruntine/U.S. Army)
Two Mississippi Air National Guard troops deployed to Washington helped parents reunite with their lost son in the crowded National Mall earlier this week.
Air Force Tech Sgt. Richard Kramer and Airman Devontae Taylor, both of whom are with the 172nd Airlift Wing, were on a routine patrol near the Washington Monument Monday when panicked parents went up to them to ask for help, according to a service news release.
The parents said their 14-year-old son had suddenly gone missing and asked for help finding him. Kramer got more information from the mother about their son, and then notified a Secret Service agent so that they could look notify other agencies to be on the lookout for the child.
Taylor, left, and Kramer with the lost child, center left, near the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., Oct. 6, 2025. (Renee Seruntine/U.S. Army)
The airmen then began walking around the mall to search for the boy based on a photo provided by his mother.
When approaching the Washington Monument, Taylor saw a teenager that fit the description who was running away, the release said. Taylor caught up with the boy, and escorted him back to his family.
“I’m glad we found the child safe and we were able to get him back to his parents effectively helping to make D.C. a better, safer place,” said Taylor. “That’s what we were brought here for; that’s what we signed up for; and I’m glad to have played my part in it.”