Roll of Honor
Kenneth Robert Meisel
Incident
Location: Minnesota Incident Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2020
Senior Federal Air Marshal Kenneth Meisel died as the result of complications after contracting COVID-19 during a presumed exposure while on duty.
He was exposed to traveling public in airports and aircraft during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senior Federal Air Marshal Meisel was a U.S. Army veteran. He had served with the Federal Air Marshal Service for 18 years and was assigned to the Minneapolis Field Office. He had previously served with the Shawnee Police Department in Oklahoma for eight years.
COVID-19 and Law Enforcement
Senior Federal Air Marshal Kenneth Robert Meisel died on September 24, 2020 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 55.
He is one of 884 officers honored here, and one of 2 at United States Department of Homeland Security - Transportation Security Administration - Federal Air Marshal Service.
Beginning in early 2020, law enforcement officers across the country contracted COVID-19 in the course of their duties. While much of the nation sheltered at home, they kept answering calls, making arrests, transporting prisoners, and working face to face with the public. There was no distance to be had from the job.
Corrections officers were hit hardest. Confined facilities and large populations meant constant, close, unavoidable exposure.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and five children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-5C3B1FBC- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Senior Federal Air Marshal Meisel gave the United States Department of Homeland Security 26 years.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Senior Federal Air Marshal Meisel.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Kenneth Robert Meisel served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Senior Federal Air Marshal Kenneth Robert Meisel is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In TX, 204 of 2,421 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 8.4% of this state's fallen. That is 0.7 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
At United States Department of Homeland Security - Transportation Security Administration - Federal Air Marshal Service, 2 of 3 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 66.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Kenneth Robert Meisel's cause is highlighted.
How Kenneth Robert Meisel Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Kenneth Robert Meisel is highlighted in Sep.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
2 officers from United States Department of Homeland Security - Transportation Security Administration - Federal Air Marshal Service are honored on badge.nw.
