Page 172 - 100 Hours to Destiny

worst. But we prayed for you, and when the news came out of the blackout,
we realized that you had won the war…and were at the Capital. The Country
considers you heroes and you will be treated as such, just you wait and see
what is waiting for you when you get home. The Country is afire with
patriotism and we just want to say thank you for a job well done. Now
without further delay, we are going to give you the flight safety briefing, so
let’s get this show on the road. Are you with me?”
The Marines went wild again cheering the flight attendant on.
One pilot, a Captain, had his hands on the throttle of this massive
aircraft carrying the souls of the 3rd LAI Battalion as well as his own flight
crew. The massive engines roared to life and we began the slow roll down
the runway. It seemed like an eternity…faster…faster….the wings first began
to lift, and the plane continued to gain speed, but we were not leaving the
ground.
I looked at Matt, I said, “Damn that’s a long time on the ground
brother.”
Matt replied, “It’s going to be okay, just give it a minute.”
It was a nerve racking takeoff, then suddenly…AIRBORNE! The pilot
then rolled us in a steep climb and once again the Marines onboard went
wild. Truly we were leaving so much behind us in the jet trails. It was an
emotional moment; a chapter, containing some of the greatest events of the
era, was closing as we left that airbase and Saudi behind.
It seemed as though many of us still weren’t able to contemplate the
fact that we were surely leaving that place. Now we were headed to
Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany for a layover to refuel the aircraft and
bring on more food for the long flight across the Atlantic. When we left
Ramstein we would be landing in New York first then on to Norton Airforce
Base in Southern California.
Something unique happened in Ramstein during that layover. As the
Marines waited for the plane to become ready for us again to re-board, it
became apparent that we were without a doubt done with our mission.
Now, the calling to return to our families, our moms, our dads, our wives,
our friends and best of all the great ole United States of America was the
new mission. As Marines, we were hell-bent on fulfilling that mission.
The word came that it was time to board the plane. Matt and I were
in the back of the line waiting for our turn. There was no stopping those
Marines… THEY WERE READY TO GO HOME! The staff of Ramstein Airforce
Base could not stop or control the rush for the plane. Marines fought to get
up the ladder well….literally attacking the entryways.
I said to Matt, “My God man…look at the plane bouncing all over the
place as those devil dogs are clambering aboard.”