Posted: 10/31/2007 4:59:28 PM EDT
|
So, I'm in Reno attending a survival and flight equipment trade show. Last night, at one of the hospitality rooms, they were raffling off carved wooden airplane models from the Vietnam era. One of the models was a C-141, tail number 60177 (The Hanoi Taxi), which I spent many an hour on as a crewmember back in the day. I probably flew on 177 more than any other 141 and often joked about it being "my" airplane. Anyway, hoping to win the model, I was disappointed when someone else did. As he came walking back from the table with it, I commented on how that was "my" airplane back when I was active. He looked at me, handed me the model, and said, "It still is." Man, what a nice gesture...especially since the guy who won it is Active Air Force and said he heard that 60177 was special to me and knew giving it to me was the right thing to do. Needless to say, he and his buddies didn't pay for a drink the rest of the night... |