Stephensen Family tours Stephensen Elementary

Vern Rathbun (far left), Kristen Rathbun, (left) Mark Stephensen II (right) and Kyler Stephensen (far right) pose for a photo, April 22, 2021, at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. The Gold Star Family program supports civilians who have lost a loved one in combat while serving the military. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Akeem K. Campbell)

Stephensen Family tours Stephensen Elementary

Phillip McCluskey, principal of Stephensen Elementary (right) gives the Stephensen family a tour around the school, April 22, 2021, at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. Previously, Stephensen elementary was named the Base Primary School but was redesignated in 2014 to honor Col. Mark L. Stephenson. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Akeem K. Campbell)

Stephensen Family tours Stephensen Elementary

Kyler Stephensen (left), Kristen Rathbun (middle), and Mark Stephensen II receive their Gold star family member pin, April 22, 2021, at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. The three are part of the Gold Star Family program, which recognizes families of fallen Airmen that died in combat or deployed locations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Akeem K. Campbell)

Stephensen Family tours Stephensen Elementary

The Stephensen family tours the school library, April 22, 2021, at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. This school has two library programs: the Lego Readers program and the Oscars program. The goal is to get students to read books from different genres. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Akeem K. Campbell)

Stephensen Family tours Stephensen Elementary

Kristen Rathbun (left), Kyler Stephensen (middle) and Mark Stephensen II (right) look at the late Col. Mark L. Stephensen’s biography, April 22, 2021, at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. The three individuals are the children of Col. Mark L. Stephensen, and they have a fourth sibling named Lance Stephensen. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Akeem K. Campbell)

Stephensen Family tours Stephensen Elementary

Kristen Rathbun and Kyler Stephensen view a collage of the late Col. Mark L. Stephensen, April 22, 2021, at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. Stephensen Elementary School was named after Col. Mark L. Stephensen, a pilot in the U.S. Air Force who was shot down during the Vietnam war, April 29, 1967. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Akeem K. Campbell)

Stephensen Family tours Stephensen Elementary

Published April 28, 2021
By Airman 1st Class Akeem K. Campbell
366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho -- On, April 22, 2021, Mark Stephensen II, Kristen Rathbun, and Kyler Stephensen toured Stephensen Elementary, with school principal, Phillip McCluskey as their tour guide. The school was named after their late father, Col. Mark L. Stephensen, a U.S. Air Force pilot who was shot down during the Vietnam war, April 29, 1967.