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Weary Travelers Support Operation Iraqi Freedom Troops at BWI
American Forces Press Service ^ | Oct 31, 2003 | Donna Miles

Posted on 10/31/2003 4:34:18 PM PST by Spruce

American Forces Press Service

Weary Travelers Support Operation Iraqi Freedom Troops at BWI

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2003 — Nearly everyone has experienced it at one time or another: an airport bogged down by bad weather, delayed and cancelled flights, and cranky, overtired travelers wanting nothing more than to get to their destinations.

That's exactly what Will Ross, an administrative judge for the Defense Department's Office of Hearings and Appeals in Los Angeles, encountered Oct. 27 at Baltimore/Washington International Airport.

But what he witnessed that day, he said, "made me proud to be an American, and also told me why we will win this war (on terrorism)."

Like many of his fellow passengers, Ross had been forced to spend the night in Baltimore. His outbound flight, scheduled for the night before, had been cancelled due to the California wildfires. They had forced the Los Angeles International Airport to close, and the ripple effect drove domestic travel nationwide into a tailspin.

When Ross reported to the United Airlines counter the following morning for the next scheduled flight to Los Angeles, bad weather and aircraft mechanical problems made the prospect of a timely trip even more grim.

As he waited in the terminal, Ross noticed many soldiers in their desert camouflage uniforms, newly arrived from Southwest Asia. All, like Ross and the other passengers at the airport, were awaiting connecting flights — but in the soldiers' case, it was to begin two weeks of rest and recuperation leave.

Flight delays continued and the airport had become, in Ross's words, "a zoo." By the afternoon, one flight to Denver had been delayed several hours. United Airlines agents kept asking for volunteers to give up their seats and take another flight, but Ross said they weren't getting many takers.

Finally, Ross said a United Airlines spokeswoman got on the public address system and made a desperate plea. "Folks, as you can see, there are a lot of soldiers in the waiting area," the agent said. "They only have 14 days of leave and we're trying to get them where they need to go without spending any more time in an airport than they have to.

"We sold them all tickets knowing we would oversell the flight. If we can, we want to get them all on this flight. We want all the soldiers to know … we respect what you're doing, we are here for you and we love you," the agent continued. "The entire terminal of cranky, tired, travel-weary people -- a cross-section of America -- broke into sustained and heartfelt applause," Ross said. "We're talking about several hundred people applauding, a whole terminal.

"The soldiers looked surprised and very modest," he continued. "Most of them just looked at their boots." Many of the travelers in the terminal wiped away tears.

"And, yes," Ross said, "people lined up to take the later flight and all the soldiers went to Denver on that flight."

Ross said he figured that 30 or 40 people had suddenly jumped at the chance to offer their seats to U.S. soldiers.

That moment, he said, reinforced his patriotism and his heartfelt belief that the United States will prevail in the war on terror.

"I think people realized that this fight is going to be long and drawn-out, and these kids are in the thick of it," he said. "It was heartwarming to see their outpouring of support."


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; Miscellaneous; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: bwi; dc; dia; ga; goodnews; iraq; maryland; randr; supportourtroops; tx; ual; virginia
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1 posted on 10/31/2003 4:34:18 PM PST by Spruce
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To: Spruce
Great news...thanks for the post!
2 posted on 10/31/2003 4:38:20 PM PST by Fledermaus (I'm a conservative...not necessarily a Republican.)
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To: Spruce
Man, what a great post.
3 posted on 10/31/2003 4:51:14 PM PST by Enterprise
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To: Spruce
Oh wow! This is just awesome! Thanks for the posting.

God Bless Our Troops!
4 posted on 10/31/2003 4:54:06 PM PST by jigsaw (Grab life by the taglines: TaglinusFR 26 --> http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1000017/posts)
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To: Spruce
Most Americans will do what it takes to take care of our troops...
(Except for some Democrats and members of ANSWER)
Even spending a few extra hours in a airport terminal.
Hats off to these folks.
And just one more reason to hunt down and prosecute the weasels that started those fires...
5 posted on 10/31/2003 4:54:45 PM PST by cavtrooper21 (Stand and Deliver!! One round volly fire by Ranks....... FIRE!)
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To: Enterprise
BTTT
6 posted on 10/31/2003 4:55:41 PM PST by patton (I wish we could all look at the evil of abortion with the pure, honest heart of a child.)
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To: Spruce
Goosebumps and teary eyes - thanks for sharing.
7 posted on 10/31/2003 4:56:56 PM PST by Let's Roll (And those that cried Appease! Appease! are hanged by those they tried to please!")
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To: Spruce
btt
8 posted on 10/31/2003 4:57:56 PM PST by teldon30
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To: Ragtime Cowgirl
Put this one at the TOP of your list!!!
9 posted on 10/31/2003 4:58:38 PM PST by Miss Marple
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To: Spruce
BTTT
10 posted on 10/31/2003 5:02:23 PM PST by OldFriend (DEMS INHABIT A PARALLEL UNIVERSE)
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To: Spruce
. . . inspiring!!!
11 posted on 10/31/2003 5:20:53 PM PST by DrDeb
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To: Spruce
God Bless America BUMP
12 posted on 10/31/2003 6:12:22 PM PST by djreece
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Comment #13 Removed by Moderator

To: Spruce
We sold them all tickets knowing we would oversell the flight.

Some folks might think that sounds like fraud.

14 posted on 10/31/2003 7:58:04 PM PST by PAR35
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To: PAR35
I was flying that day and BWI was a mess. Delta let the soldiers board first before everyone and they boarded to cheers. As they got off the plane, everyone patted them, thanked them and they were all adorable perfect gentlemen.
15 posted on 10/31/2003 8:12:19 PM PST by cajungirl (no)
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To: cajungirl
The other day while traveling with my son we met am airman traveling to his first duty post. Very nice, polite kid. He was from Atlanta and was heading to Minot, ND. Man did I feel for him! LOL!
16 posted on 10/31/2003 8:37:23 PM PST by Spruce
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To: potlatch
Ping!
17 posted on 10/31/2003 9:33:22 PM PST by ntnychik
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To: Spruce; ntnychik
That makes you feel good!
18 posted on 10/31/2003 10:16:30 PM PST by potlatch (1 cross + 3 nails = 4 given)
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To: Spruce
I've had a bug planted in my head for a few days now - that the returning troops deserve to have some friendly faces greeting them at BWI, where they are arriving to make connecting flights to their homes, and I found this article while surfing around the net this morning, looking for info on flights into BWI with returning troops on them.

Thinking that it was newsworthy, I did a quick search to see if it was posted on FR, and there it was! Thanks for posting it, Spruce.

I also found a news release from CENTCOMM that announces an increase in the number of troops being rotated out of Iraq for R & R, beginning yesterday. The troops will begin arriving in Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, and BWI airports tomorrow, November 2, and make connecting flights home from those airports.

Any locals able to get to those airports and greet these fine young men and women? They've been away from home a long time, and all they've gotten news-wise (CNN, etc.) is that American support for their mission is evaporating. It would be nice if some local FReepers, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and others would show them that the news is lying to them - and that we do support them!

19 posted on 11/01/2003 5:27:40 AM PST by tgslTakoma (Why call it ANSWER? It's WORKERS WORLD PARTY!)
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To: potlatch
BTTT
20 posted on 11/01/2003 5:29:16 AM PST by GrandMoM ("Without prayer, the hand of GOD stops, BUT, with prayer the hand of GOD moves !!!)
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