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A US Army veteran and former member of the Kansas Air National Guard was identified as the woman who died while on an Air France flight home after celebrating her retirement from service, officials said.
Chief Master Sergeant Barbara DiPoli, 53, suffered a sudden “medical episode” while flying to Boston from Scotland on Jan. 14, with her official cause of death still unknown, according to Massachusetts State Police.
Her father, Joseph DiPoli, a US Army and Navy veteran, said he was heartbroken and feared that the mental health issues she suffered following her tour in Iraq may have contributed to her sudden death.
“She just wore herself out. There was nothing left. Nothing left for her to fight back with when she got sick,” Joseph told WCVB.
DiPoli, of Topeka, Kansas, served at least 22 months in Iraq and developed PTSD and an eating disorder following her tour, according to her father.
She became a Kansas Air National Guard member in September 2007, and was eventually promoted to chief master sergeant in 2022 before being stationed in Washington, DC.
DiPoli retired from service in September 2024 and left for Scotland to kick off the start of her golden years. It was while she was overseas that DiPoli fell ill, WCVB reports.
Air France officials said that there was a doctor on the flight to administer CPR and emergency aid, but DiPoli could not be saved and died.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Massachusetts said it is currently probing DiPoli’s cause of death, which will be determined at a later date.
Joseph said that after her vacation plans, DiPoli was preparing to help counsel other veterans also living with PTSD.
“No parent should ever have to bury their child. Ever,” Joseph lamented. “I could never accomplish in my 34 years in the military — I never came close to accomplishing what she did in 21 years.”
DiPoli is set to be cremated and buried at Arlington National Cemetery, her father added.
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