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Show I H V. I I 1 i I Lt. Col. Terry Adams of the 4th Tactical Fighter Squadron swooped down to pick up his youngest daughter, Tricia, 5, as he climbed out of the cockpit of his F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet and was quickly surrounded by daughters Corey, 13 (right), Lacey, 8 (foreground), and Corey's friend Christy Brown at Hill Air Force Base Wednesday. Asked what she liked best about her father's homecoming, Tricia said, "My daddy is going to give me a puppy dog." See photos page A-7. (Clipper photo by Patrick Mitchell) Airmen return to iflag-waving gala By MARK EDDINGTON Staff Writer HILL AIR FORCE BASE After a seven -month absence, airmen returned home to Hill Air Force Base and a hero's welcome from hundreds of wives, family members and well-wishers waving mini-American flags and yellow ribbons. Thursday's homecoming reception recep-tion for 21 pilots of the 4th Tactical Fighter Squadron, "the fighting fuujins, was typical of the greeting given to all the airmen who returned during the week. All along the tarmac, the crowd--awash in a sea of red, white and! blue waited anxiously. When th; first six of 21 F-16 fighter aircraft roared overhead en route to landing,, the crowd waved flags, performed a human wave and saluted wi t h upraised arms and clenched fisia. After flying hundreds of sortie's against Iraq, the conquering heroes were renaming home. It seemed like hours later, but iin reality was only a few minutes, when the sleek fighters taxied int o position. Pilots, yellow ribbons arid American flags prominently ; displayed in cockpits, gave the thumbs up signal. Engines were shut down, cockpits raised, and controlled pandemonium erupted as wives and children were reunited with husbands, while the crowd roared, and reporters and cameramen ran in every direction to cover the event. Vivienne Smith, wife of British pilot Flight Lt. Edward Smith, rushed rush-ed over to greet her husband along with her son Stewart and daughter Charlotte, who was carrying a large union jack flag. The family converged con-verged and knelt on the concrete hugging and holding on to each other. Smith trained and foughl with the squadron as part of an exchange program. "I'm so ecstatic about having him home. Now we can go back to being a family again," Vivienne said. The Smith reunion typifies what has by now become a familiar sight at the air base. Nearly every day, everywhere it seems, returning airmen and their families embrace each other and shed tears. More than 1,000 of the 1,300 airmen deployed to the Persian Gulf SEE RETURN ON A-8 i - ' If - J i f I ' " " " 7 v Y Return CONTINUED FROM A-l returned to the air base, including airmen from the 2849th Air Base Group and the 421st TFS, nicknamed nicknam-ed the 'Black Widow "squadron, which was the other squadron from the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing to deploy. The last contingent of F-16 pilots touched down Friday afternoon. after-noon. Reaction of the returning pilots and support personnel to the tumultuous greeting ranged from disbelief to profound gratitude. TSgt. Jeff Dutcher recalled watching wat-ching CNN, which he said was the primary source of news for airmen in Saudi Arabia, and watching other troops come home to enthusiastic crowds. So he thought he knew what was coming and was ready. Yet when it was his turn, Dutcher said watching fellow airmen and soldiers return home did not fully prepare him for his own homecoming. homecom-ing. "It's one thing to see it happen to others. But when I get home and they do it for me, I get pretty choked chok-ed up," he said while standing with his wife Miyon and two sons, Jeff and Jason. "The thing I will always remember re-member from this experience, he added, "is the overwhelming support sup-port the American public has shown for the troops. The troops felt that support while leaving from across the country and while returning. I' m just overwhelmed. ' Dutcher said he had been on some long TDYs (temporary duty assignments), but nothing like a deployment of this length before. Miyon was fortunate to have family close by to help support her during the trial of her first major separation from her husband. For Karen Hertberg, wife of Capt. Robert Hertberg, the reunion was especially sweet. The mother of two has scarcely seen her husband hus-band for a year. Shortly after her son Matthew, age 13 months, was bom, Robert left for four months to attend fighter weapon school. He had only been back eight days when the "fighting fuujins," or fighters from hell as they are called, were deployed for Operation Desert Storm. Family members at Hill Air Force Base await the arrival of airmen that had been gone for seven months to fight in the Persian Gulf war in Iraq and Kuwait. The family members proudly display the the American Flag as the wait for the airmen to return. (Clipper photo by Patrick Mitchell) Capt. Hertberg returned with the third cell-group of six aircraft, and Karen, dressed in a light sweater and holding Matthew, walked quickly with her 3-year-old daughter Jennifer into a stiff wind to welcome him home. "This time, he had better stay for a while," she said. "This time he had better stay." After exchanging greetings with friends and acknowledging the congratulations con-gratulations and adulation of others, the pilots and their families walked or rode to hangar 37, which served as the official reception station for the airmen. The returning airmen are expected ex-pected to receive some time off to spend with their families, officials said, adding they were unsure of how much time that would be. After the long ordeal, many airmen said the experience had changed them. Others talked about the changes back home, particularly the self-reliance of their wives and children. And there were other surprises. sur-prises. "My 5-year-old boy Jason has gotten better at Nintendo. He has already beaten me several times. He has really grown up in my absence," Maj. Jay Lindall said. |