Thursday, 13 August 1970 -- Rhein-Main, Andrews AFB, Dulles International, Home

The trip back to the US was almost a mirror to our trip out here to Germany, over three weeks ago. This was, however, to be my longest day, yet.

Reveille was at 0400 and at 0445 I enjoyed the first American breakfast I'd had in almost a month. No raw fish or curdled milk and corn flakes in THIS chow line!! After, it was time to head for the flight line where our C-141 Starlifters were waiting.

By now there were a lot of CAP Cadets milling around and it was like a class reunion.

Everyone had a story or two to share, from the guy who threw away all his clothes to bring back a suitcase full of German beer to the remarkable "picture" books available in France and Norway (and Sweden). There were stories about famous sites and historic places and tales of adventures of all kinds. Moreover, everyone was just certain that THEIR host country had been the best.

At 0820 we broke ground for the nine-hour flight back to Andrews AFB, with a cargo of tired and mostly subdued Cadets. Touching down at 1245 local, we deplaned and were hustled through a Customs check that was mostly the formality of filling out a declaration form. Plane tickets for home were issued and an USAF bus took us right to the airport. There would be no time wasted in dispatching us for home.

The idea of being home again revived most, and all clamored for a lunch break at the first McDonald's we saw. Unauthorized side trips weren't in the driver's instructions so he just took us on to Washington National Airport. A few of us discovered that our connections called for later flights out of Dulles International, and so were bussed out there at about 1600.

Dulles turned out to be quite a novelty. The main building featured a massive upswept roof of pre-stressed concrete that looked like something from the cover of a science fiction magazine. It was quite modern, even by current standards. Another difference is that the planes didn't "dock" at the terminal. Instead, you were brought out to your plane by special busses that would "dock" with the plane; a unique concept that probably saved a lot of taxiing around by the planes.

We broke ground for home at 1915 Washington DC time -- my watch said it was 0430 the "next" morning, Sweden time....

Afterward

In our three-week trip to Sweden there were nine trips by air and eleven by bus. We visited eight historical attractions, eight major Swedish companies, and another eight sightseeing excursions of various kinds. We stayed at seven RSAF bases, two private homes and were guests at fourteen formal banquets and receptions. Moreover, we had a chance to see another, very special, country and live a hectic daily schedule with guys from four other countries and from across the US.

Some thirty-two years later (June, 2003) I'm sitting at a word processor, thinking about those guys and of that special trip. The calendar says it happened a long time ago, but my notes and recollections bring back memories of crystal clarity.

For me, the International Air Cadet Exchange was twenty-one days that lasted a lifetime.