ST. LOUIS – St. Louis welcomed back a fallen local soldier as the body of Airman First Class Tatyana Salceda arrived at St. Louis Lambert International Airport to a hero's welcome.

Salceda was killed earlier this month in a crash at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. She was 28.

She served with the 673rd Logistics Readiness Squadron.

“Tatyana was a sweetheart. She was very pure, very honest, and loving,” Celena Shivers, Tatyana’s aunt, said. “She told her mom one day…'I figured out what I wanted to do.' … She said, 'I want to serve our country. I want to be an airman.’”

Her body arrived Tuesday afternoon and was met by the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard, Patriot Guard Riders, and her grieving family.

Tatyana’s family says she was full of life, and her laughter is what t

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