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eminding me to look outside and I appreciated his gesture. I had already been<br />
looking out for some time. I felt my hand moving the throttles forward.<br />
As the <strong>Sled</strong> raced forward, my mind filled with flashbacks of all that followed the<br />
last time I had passed this nameless spot on the map. In only seconds, many images<br />
flashed in my mind: the horror of the moment when I knew my plane was going into<br />
the jungle; the quiet of the jungle floor, as I lay there listening to the sickening sound<br />
of my airplane burning; the eternity of those first two months in intensive care,<br />
when the numbness had worn off and I wanted to die; the long hours of painful<br />
physical therapy administered by people smart enough to ignore my protests; the<br />
doctors telling me I would never fly again; the surgical fusing of small bones in the<br />
hand that left steel pins temporarily protruding through tender fingers; my release<br />
from the hospital; the joy I felt on my first flights. Memory of it all rushed back to me<br />
as we passed over that fateful spot.<br />
There were no steel pins now, just the firm grip of a gloved hand on metal<br />
throttles. The only surgery being performed was in the precision of our ground track<br />
as we dragged our sonic boom across a faceless jungle. I brought no weapons this<br />
day, but hoped the people below would hear the sound of freedom. I wanted the<br />
boom to shout with defiance "I'm back!" I felt proud to return in the black jet,<br />
undefeated. I also felt anger about the loss of so many who would never return.<br />
As we approached a sensitive border, Walt politely reminded me that our Mach<br />
was too high, and I needed to reduce it. With a trace of reluctance, I complied. As we<br />
sped away from that scarred land, I took one last look at a place I would never<br />
forget. There was no pain at 78,000 feet.<br />
After Walt and I climbed out of the jet that day, we shook hands as people do who<br />
have shared a special experience. As I was about to step into the van, I noticed the<br />
young airman, and gave him a "thumbs up." He returned the signal with a passion I<br />
could understand.
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