Travelers' airport patriotism shines bright for soldiers
By Greg Barrett
Washington — The e-mail from Wilford H. Ross begins like one of those Internet messages that turn out to be a hoax or an electronic chain letter that guarantees blessings if forwarded to family and friends.
But Ross, an administrative judge with the Department of Defense, swears by his story. In retelling it 10 days later, he still gets goose bumps.
On a stormy day last week, Ross waited 13 hours for a flight at Baltimore/Washington International Airport, a gateway today for U.S. soldiers returning home from Iraq for two-week visits.
Milling among the business suits were troops in dusty brown desert fatigues. For Ross, a 48-year-old Army veteran, it evoked World War II scenes of soldiers waiting in big-city train stations.
Outside, the rain fell in sheets and the wind howled. A number of flights out of BWI and other airports had been canceled or delayed due to either bad weather or the wildfires raging in Southern California. So when a United Airlines representative explained that the United flight to Denver — near the Army's Fort Carson — had been overbooked, no one stepped forward to offer up their ticket.
Six times a voice on the public address system offered perks or free tickets to anyone who would relinquish a seat. Nothing. Finally, Ross said, a United Airlines customer service representative pleaded the soldiers' case:
"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," United's Marsha Stein said, sounding panicked. "If we can, we want to get them all on this flight."
The people in the business suits stood up and applauded, some with tears in their eyes. A line of 20 to 40 travelers quickly formed. People gave up their seats.
"All the soldiers boarded the flight and they all made it to their final destinations," said United spokesman Jason Schechter, confirming Ross' story.
Ross arrived at his Los Angeles home nearly two days late but his spirits were buoyed by the fact that stranded strangers — grumbling about their collective fate — could react with such charity.
"We were all tired and cranky and worn out," Ross recalled Thursday from California. "Obviously no one was giving up a seat so 'Joe Other Traveler' could get home."
It was the last sentence of Stein's plea that touched a nerve: "We want all the soldiers to know that we respect what you are doing. We are here for you and we love you."
The applause was spontaneous and sustained and the soldiers looked embarrassed. Many of them stared modestly at their boots.
"At that moment," Ross said, "I felt a great unity in this country."
Ross retold the story in an e-mail to nine people. It has since circulated across the Internet and is posted to at least two Web sites.
And it's all true. (posted 11-07-03)
