St. Louis-area National Guard member dies on humanitarian mission
BY PATRICK M. O'CONNELL
Missouri National Guard Sgt. Robert Traxel, 34, of Union, died Monday during a humanitarian mission in Guatemala.
A Missouri National Guard member and former Florissant police officer died Monday in Guatemala during a two-week humanitarian mission there.
Sgt. Robert Traxel, 34, of Union, died when he was struck by debris during a helicopter take-off, said aunt Suzanne Corbett. Traxel was on the ground when one of the blades of the helicopter clipped a tree branch or other foliage, and it appears a limb fell on his head in a "freak accident," Corbett said.
Traxel, a married father of four, was a member of the Guard's 70th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment from Jefferson City. His aunt said he joined at the .....