Her father’s footsteps

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Apryl Hall
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
It all started with a trash can. She was young, maybe six or seven, and realized her parents had never purchased a trash can. Every week, without fail, she watched as someone came and collected the trash from the can they were provided in base housing. When she visited her grandparents, it dawned on her trash pick-up was a service most had to pay for. She wanted no part of that.

“I thought, ‘Well I don’t want to buy my own trash can, so I’ll join the Air Force too,’” said 2nd Lt. Gabriella Graham, 741st Missile Squadron deputy missile combat crew commander. “I suppose I was very little when I knew I wanted to join.”

Graham grew up in the Air Force. Her father was an enlisted optometry technician, then worked in supply before commissioning to become a missileer. It was during his assignment at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota as an MCCC with the 741st MS that she finally became curious about her dad’s job.

“She really wanted to know everything she could about what I did,” said Maj. Raymundo Vann, now a member of the Chief A10 Action Group at Air Force Headquarters at the Pentagon. “She would ask what I did, what’s it’s like to sit on alert, or if I can see the missiles from where I sit. A few times she wanted me to explain what kind of weapon the missile really is and if other countries are afraid of it.”

Graham cherishes the time her family spent at Minot, she said. She recalls having big get-togethers often and building friendships she still has to this day, something that didn’t happen for her at any other base. But mostly, she remembers being intrigued by her father’s career.

“We would see trainers and stuff, so I knew what everything looked like and what he was doing,” she said. “Big picture I think I understood, but past that, I don’t really know if I had the understanding of what his job meant.”

Graham finished high school and attended the University of Wyoming, immediately entering the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps knowing she wanted to be an Airman. Becoming a missileer was always in the back of her mind.

“There was something about the 13N career field that I really enjoyed learning about,” Graham said. “I think it’s also pretty special to be in the same job with your dad, who is still active and serving.”

With her mind set on becoming a missileer, Graham phoned her father to tell him the good news.

“I was very excited, but I tried not to show it,” Vann recalled. “I wanted her to be confident in her decision without my help.”

After completing college, Graham headed to Vandenberg AFB, California for 13N technical school. Throughout her training, she always heeded her dad’s advice: Study hard, keep a positive attitude no matter what, and always focus on being a good person, officer and operator. In the case she needed a better understanding of something, Vann was just a phone call away.

“He was always there to help and guide me,” Graham said. “He’s dad! He knows how I learn, so he was able to break things down and explain better.”

As “Squadron Night” arrived, Graham’s waiting game was over. She would finally know where she would begin her career, where she would call home. Despite putting Minot on the top of her list and planting the 741st MS seed to her instructors, she was nervous when she went up to unveil her assignment in front of her classmates. She pulled the tape off to seal her fate.

“I was so excited and relieved,” Graham said. “While I would’ve jumped into any squadron, it was just awesome to see that I got to go stand where my dad stood.”

Heart racing and head spinning, there was one person she couldn’t wait to calm down to talk to.

“I was like any other father, beaming with pride!” Vann said. “She could have done anything she wanted, so the fact that she chose to join the greatest Air Force in the world and then become a missileer at the 741st was truly humbling.”

Graham has been a member of the squadron just a short time now, admitting that every day at work feels like a dream. She recognizes people and things, like the green rock her father signed his name on years ago in the squadron heritage room. She finds comfort in knowing she sits where he once did, but also strives to outshine him.

“She constantly reminds me that, while I may have been a pretty good missileer when I was at Minot, she's working to be the best she can be, better than me,” Vann said. “I believe her! I'm most proud of the way she faces any challenge and just keeps on working toward her goals.”

Whether or not Graham lives up to her father’s reputation in the squadron, being a 741st family is more special than either of them could have hoped.

“The idea that my daughter is following a similar path is pretty awesome,” Vann said. “But the fact that we now have a family legacy in the 741st amazes me every time I think about it.”


The saying goes, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Those words hold just a little bit more weight for this family.