Like many stories of the spat-upon veteran genre, Smith's lacks credulity. GIs landed at military airbases, not civilian airports, and protesters could not have gotten onto the bases and anywhere near deplaning troops. There may have been exceptions, of course, but in those cases how would protesters have known in advance that a plane was being diverted to a civilian site? And even then, returnees would have been immediately bused to nearby military installations and processed for reassignment or discharge.
Yes, we often did land at Military Bases. However, many of us were reassigned, as he said, but how did we travel to our new duty assignments? Civilian aircraft at civilian airports. Once we received orders, we were released to go through the main gate (often where protesters stood to hassle us) and sent on our way to travel where need be.
Since we weren't paid very much, we qualified for what was known then as Military Standby airfare. In order to gain it, we were required by the airlines to travel in full uniform and show orders.
Not only that, even if traveling in civies, if discharged, your luggage, an Army Duffle Bag, short hair and such immediately identified you as a Veteran or member of the Military. Most, after discharge, still flew in uniform to qualify for the cheaper rate of airfare.
All transfers between duty stations were by civilian transportation, airlines, bus or train, bus and airlines being the most commonly used.
Protesters would not have to know when a returning flight of of Veterans was diverted, on a daily basis, members of the military traveled through nearly every airport in the country. Back then, all airports had USOs in them as well. If we weren't using the civilian airports, why the USOs? We became simply Targets of Opportunity to them.
Is Lemcke truly a Veteran? I don't know, but he sure should be aware of what I say above, it's how we all traveled about.