U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Troy Lamarlowe Hall II considered the Air Force one big family. As a non-commissioned officer (NCO) working in fuels and training in battle management operations, he traveled the globe, making friends everywhere he went. He even created the Duck Squad, a group of 20 Air Force and civilian friends who traveled together internationally each year. Squad members wore yellow duck lapel pins, and some, including Hall, sported duck tattoos.
“Everyone just loves him,” his wife, Mallory Hall, said, notably referring to her husband in the present tense. “He built a big community in the Air Force, and then he just kept making more friends.” Hall passed away from cancer on June 28, 2025, less than a month after marrying Mallory. The two had become friends in 2017 and started dating in 2023.
After his death, Mallory began wearing a gold necklace with the number 444, often interpreted as an “angel number” signifying protection. “I kept seeing the number 444 everywhere,” she explained, “and he [had] told me one of the biggest things he wanted was to love and protect me.” She added that Hall cared for everyone, “no matter who they were, even people he didn’t know.” His desire to care for people helped him grow his Air Force family.
More than 200 members of that Air Force family attended Hall’s funeral service at Arlington National Cemetery on Oct. 30, 2025, many of them wearing yellow duck lapel pins. Attendees flew in from all over the United States, and one group of 15 airmen drove down from Canada. At the service, Father Michael Bryant described Hall as “a very selfless, kind, loving person” who “loved his family and loved those that he served with.”
Mallory wept as she accepted the folded flag from Tech. Sgt. Matthew Harding. Her sister, Courtney Rockhill, got up and hugged Mallory, while their mother, Melody Hall, also accepted a folded flag.
After the service, several Air Force NCOs spoke about their respect for Hall and his leadership skills. Master Sgt. Roanne Suyosa, who served as Hall’s wingman with Detachment 2, First Air Force in North Bay, Ontario, was so impressed with his leadership that she asked the detachment commander to make Hall the first sergeant (an adviser to the commander). Hall gave Suyosa the call sign “SCRAP,” standing for “She Can Resolve Any Problem.” “That's who he was,” she said. “He could always find light in each one of us; he could always find some good things in you.”
Senior Master Sgt. Hailey Sundberg, who later joined Hall and Suyosa in North Bay, said that when she informed Hall of her arrival, he prepared record reviews of the airmen she would be commanding to ensure a smooth transition. “We are very lucky to have known him and have been able to grow from leading him, being led by him and just being his friend,” she said.
A few weeks before Hall’s death, Mallory asked him if he wanted to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. “His eyes just lit up and he said, ‘Absolutely, it's what I want,’” she recalled.
Watching the large crowd disperse, Mallory reiterated her husband’s belief about the Air Force. “Everyone's family,” she said. “Friends are family, and my family is his family.” She added that Hall brought her into the Duck Squad and pointed to a duck tattoo on her wrist. “I have matching tattoos with him,” she said. “He was the one that brought everybody together.”