A Marine Corps veteran, Catherine Banks, recently went through an embarrassing and frustrating ordeal on a Delta Air Lines flight. On Wednesday, October 16, at San Francisco International Airport, she was removed from her flight after a flight attendant took issue with the message on her shirt, a message meant to raise awareness about veteran mental health.
Catherine had just gotten comfortable in her seat, anticipating her flight to see her Marine sister, when a male flight attendant approached her, calling out, “Ma’am, ma’am.” She looked around, a bit surprised.
“I looked around, like, ‘Who was he talking to?’ And it was me,” she recalled. When he told her, “You need to get off the plane,” Catherine felt a jolt of confusion and fear. “I was like, ‘What did I do?’” she remembered, unsure why she was being asked to leave.
Following his instructions, she stepped off the plane and onto the jet bridge, where she finally got an answer. “He said that shirt you’re wearing is threatening,” she explained. Catherine was shocked. Her shirt simply read, “Do not give in to the war within. End veteran suicide.”
Trying to defend herself, Catherine shared her story with him. “I said, ‘Are you kidding me? I’m a Marine Corps vet. I’m going to see my Marine sister. I’ve been in the Marine Corps for 22 years and worked for the Air Force for 15 years. I’m going to visit her,’” she explained, thinking this might change his mind.
But the response she received stunned her. According to Catherine, the flight attendant coldly replied, “I don’t care about your service, and I don’t care about her service. The only way you’re going to get back on the plane is if you take it off right now.”
With no other option, Catherine was forced to change her shirt on the jet bridge, turning her back to the flight attendant since she wasn’t wearing a bra. The experience left her feeling humiliated and powerless.
“I feel like they just took my soul away,” she later shared. “I’m not a bad person, and that T-shirt, I should be allowed to support myself and veterans.” To Catherine, the shirt was about spreading a message of hope and awareness for veterans struggling with mental health.
Once she changed, she was allowed back onto the plane, but her problems weren’t over yet. Instead of being given the extra legroom seat she’d paid for, she was told to sit in the back. The incident delayed the flight, and as a result, Catherine missed her connecting flight, adding to her disappointment and frustration.
Following the incident, Delta Air Lines reached out to address her concerns. A spokesperson confirmed, “the matter with the customer has been resolved.” Delta’s policy, known as the Contract of Carriage, allows them to remove passengers if their “conduct, attire, hygiene, or odor creates an unreasonable risk of offense or annoyance to other passengers.”
This incident has sparked strong emotions, especially among veterans and supporters of mental health awareness. Catherine’s story has raised questions about how such policies should be enforced. What do you think? Should Catherine have been asked to change her shirt? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
