…exactly 50 years ago today
Landing at Pope AFB, NC, a couple of days later was a very happy time. It was happy for the Raiders and for all the people awaiting us: family, friends, and the Army support personnel there to process us back into our normal world at Ft Bragg.
In fact, for me personally, that is the most memorable moment. It was not the training or the day of the launch or the landing at Son Tay. For me, it was the landing at Pope AFB. I will never forget what I witnessed that day. I was a single guy, so a couple of my buddies came to pick me up. But, standing there on the flight line, when I looked around at the men unloading from the airplane and I saw their wives and children running out to meet them, it really hit me.
The Bull had warned us that we had a 50/50 chance of not coming home—a 50/50 chance of this moment never happening. If there had been a security breach, it was unlikely that we could have been rescued. These warriors had laid their lives on the line to rescue fellow warriors.
Photos provided by George G. Petrie
Read the Raiders’ stories, in their own words, and see more photos in Who Will Go.
Click Here: The book.