Marine Corps Veteran Removed From Delta Flight Over ‘Threatening’ T-Shirt Advocating Veteran Suicide Prevention

The idea for this story came to us straight from the minds of Rated Red, which we are proud to have as a member of the Military Content Group (MCG), the future of military media excellence. 

In today’s “civilians just don’t understand” story, Marine Corps veteran Catherine Banks was asked to deplane from a Delta flight at San Francisco International Airport due to a T-shirt that flight attendants deemed “threatening.”

The shirt read, “Do not give in to the war within. End veteran suicide,”

To me, having lost military brothers to their own hand, this message is a  good thing; we want to end veteran suicide. Banks obviously thought the same way and explained to the flight crew that the sentiment on the shirt reflected her advocacy work.

The ex-Marine was understandably shocked by the request. She recounted being humiliated when a male flight attendant demanded that she leave the plane, even though she had no idea why at first. Once off the plane, she was told her shirt was the issue.

Banks, who 22 years of service with the Corps, protested, explaining her service and the significance of the message. The flight attendant reportedly responded dismissively, demanding she remove the shirt if she wanted to board again. Without a bra, Banks had to change into a sweatshirt in the jet bridge. Humiliating to say the least.

Banks was eventually allowed back on the plane but was not permitted to sit in the extra legroom seat she had paid for, and the flight delay caused her to miss her connection. Delta has yet to respond to NBC Bay Area’s request for comment, but their policy allows them to remove passengers if attire could offend or annoy others. This is not the first incident involving Delta’s enforcement of attire rules, as a similar case occurred in March when another woman was asked to deplane for her choice of clothing.

Banks described the incident as deeply humiliating, stating, “I feel like they just took my soul away,” and expressed frustration over not being allowed to support herself and fellow veterans through her T-shirt.

The shirt is a product of the Til Valhalla Project. Korey Shaffer, founder of the project and himself a USMC vet heard about what happened to Banks and was quite upset. He wrote on Facebook:

“To hear that someone was mistreated for wearing our gear that helps pay for the memorials delivered to families of fallen heroes and therapy for veterans is appalling.” 

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