My longest Independence Day - ever!

"I did not realize how long of a flight it was going to be. I had forgotten on the flight over to Okinawa, we lost a day due to crossing the International Date Line. Well, on the flight home, it was payback time. All of a sudden, the Fourth of July became the Third of July." 

July 4th, 1971. Independence Day. It was also my independence day. The day I was to rotate off "The Rock" (Okinawa). It was a date I had circled on my calendar for months. It was the middle of summer, and hotter than a griddle. Okinawa was in the middle of a major drought. Everyone was only allowed a 2 minute shower once every 3 days. No drinking water (when it was on) either - it was not safe. So, I could not wait to get back home to good old Minnesota. I had a boat load of leave saved up, so when got home, I was going to drink water, take showers, and enjoy normal 80 degree weather until my leave was up.

Early the morning of the Fourth, I had my sea bag all packed up. I was ready to go. The duty driver took me down to the air base at Naha to catch a flight back to CONUS. When I checked into Naha, it was once again hurry up and wait. But at least the terminal was air conditioned. A rare thing on the base I was stationed on for the past 18 months. In any event, I finally was able to board the plane, and that "freedom flight" took off for the long trip homeward.

I forgot how long of a flight it was going to be. I had also forgotten on the flight over to Okinawa, we lost a day due to crossing the International Date Line. Well, on the flight home, it was payback time. All of a sudden, the Fourth of July became the Third of July. 

After hours in the air with a couple of fuel stops, we landed at Travis Air Force Base, just north of San Francisco. Took a cab to the SFO airport, got on a flight and took off for Minnesota. It was now night time on the Third of July. The coolest part of the whole trip home, was I had a window seat, and could see fireworks in various cities - from the top down. With all the agony from that long flight, coupled with some un-needed crap I took at the airport from Hippies with anti-military attitudes, that last leg of the flight was worth it. 

I landed early in the morning on the Fourth of July in Minnesota. My folks were at the airport to pick me up. It was a beautiful, crisp morning. I took off from Okinawa on the Fourth of July, and then landed home on the Fourth of July. How weird is that. In any event, that Fourth of July in 1971, was the longest (and the best) I have ever lived through. 

A postscript to this story. Even though laden with jet lag, I still managed to travel into Robbinsdale to watch the Whiz Bang Days Fourth of July fireworks celebration. Yes, it was one very long, but beautiful day!