{"id":28972,"date":"2019-01-07T21:38:48","date_gmt":"2019-01-07T21:38:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/01\/07\/father-posts-heartbreaking-note-after-andrews-airmans-apparent-suicide\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:47:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:47:47","slug":"father-posts-heartbreaking-note-after-andrews-airmans-apparent-suicide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2019\/01\/07\/father-posts-heartbreaking-note-after-andrews-airmans-apparent-suicide\/","title":{"rendered":"Father posts heartbreaking note after Andrews airman\u2019s apparent suicide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An airman at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland was found dead<\/a> of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound Saturday night, his family said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrews confirmed that Senior Airman XinHua Mesenburg died Saturday, but said the circumstances of his death<\/a> are still being investigated. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia are conducting a joint investigation, Master Sgt. Jacob Richmond, spokesman for the 11th Wing at Andrews, said in an email. He was found dead in his home in Alexandria, Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mesenburg\u2019s father, Mitch. posted an emotional message on Facebook Sunday in which he said his 25-year-old son texted a note<\/a> to his parents Saturday night. Mitch and his wife, Shannon, immediately called 911 and repeatedly tried to call their son, but were unable to reach him, the post said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mesenburg was a response force leader assigned to the 11th Security Forces Squadron. He joined the Air Force in March 2014, and arrived at Andrews in November 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mitch Mesenburg said in the post that his son \u201chad an infectious laugh and fun disposition,\u201d and loved to play games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen he hugged you, he would not let go until you did first,\u201d Mitch wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked if he wanted to comment further, Mitch Mesenburg told Air Force Times it was too soon to speak about his son, but he gave permission to quote from his Facebook post and share the family\u2019s photograph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mesenburg, who was originally from China, was adopted and brought to the United States when he was 8 years old, his father said. He didn\u2019t speak any English, but Mitch said they soon found a way to bridge the language barrier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were time[s] we sat in the driveway … I would point to a tree, he would write the Chinese characters for it in chalk on the driveway,\u201d Mitch wrote in his post. \u201cAt one point the driveway was full of Chinese characters describing all the beauty that surrounded us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n