Chapter 11
"Going Home"
So, the two weeks went by quickly and soon, it was June 30th, 1985, a full two weeks since our ordeal began. Daphne had been in rehabilitation for two weeks, trying to get back to normal before the hijacking. Her ribs had healed was now walking normally again, much to our relief. There was even more good news for us when we watched the news that morning.
"Reports are coming out of Beirut today that the hostages of the hijacked TWA jetliner have been released by their captors and will be returning to the United States today," said Dan Rather of CBS News. "They will be flown to Germany on a military aircraft and then flown to Andrews Air Force Base aboard a chartered TWA jetliner where they will be met by President Reagan and Mrs. Reagan."
Just then, a knock was heard at the door and the US Ambassador to Algeria walked into the hospital room with Daphne's doctors flanking on each side.
"Are you the family of Daphne Blake?" he asked, walking towards us.
"We are her family," replied Elizabeth. "What is going on, Mr. Ambassador?"
"The hijackers have ordered the release of all the hostages," explained the Ambassador. "All of you are to leave for the United States today. A chartered private jet is waiting to fly you to Germany."
We knew at that moment that we were also going to be flown back to the United States with the other hostages. Just then, Daphne came out of the hospital shower wearing her favorite purple dress, pink tights and purple shoes. Her green scarf had been tied around her neck and fresh makeup was on her face.
"Great news, Daph," I said, happily. "We are going home today."
"Freddie, that's great," replied Daphne, hugging me carefully as her ribs had not fully healed. "I can't wait to get back home."
"We all are excited to get back," remarked George, her father. "The best thing is you will be coming home with us."
It seemed for Daphne that the terrorists had understood the message that she was trying to get across to the hijackers. They had a change of heart and released all the hostages they had without killing anyone. A little while later, we arrived at Algiers Airport and boarded a chartered US military plane for the flight to Rammstein Air Force base in Germany where we would meet our fellow hostages.
"Goodbye Algiers, hello home," I thought to myself as I held Daphne's hand while we lifted off from the runway.
Meanwhile, back in Beirut, John and the pilots decided that they would fly their hijacked jet to Germany and then fly with their passengers to Andrews Air Force base. The inside and outside of the aircraft had been written with several epitaphs and obscenities on the walls and doors in Arabic with lipstick confiscated from the passengers. Also, the toilets, consoles, and carpets were filthy with soda, food and urine spills. In all, the aircraft was a complete mess and it needed to be cleaned.
"I can't believe all this," remarked Ben as he and the other pilots looked over the messy aircraft. "They didn't even bother to clean the aircraft."
"What did you expect, Ben?" asked John as he picked up a moldy piece of bread from one of the first class seats. "They don't care about keeping the place clean."
"Still," said Ben. "It will sure be nice to get back home. Did you contact your wife yet?"
"I'll call her when we get to Germany," replied John as he and the other pilots stepped into the cockpit. "Although, I cannot help but wonder about why that woman gave herself up to the hijackers."
"I agree with you, John," said Phil, the first officer. "Was she trying to be like Jesus or something?"
John took a moment to think as he grabbed their inflight checklist. In his mind, he thought that Daphne was being stupid. He thought that if Daphne had sacrificed herself, then maybe God would notice their situation.
"We all try to be like Jesus," he finally repilied. "In a sense, the woman sacrificed herself and later rose again from the dead. That's all there is and nothing more. Let's get out of here."
Taking note of the statement made by their captain, the pilots began their pre-flight preparations and for the first time in two weeks, the aircraft moved out of its parking spot and taxied out to the runway.
"Flight 847, Flight 847 what are you doing?" asked the controller when he saw the aircraft move. "You have no authorization to move. Stay where you are!"
"Beirut, this is Trans World Airlines Flight 847," replied John over the radio. "We want to thank you for an interesting stay in Beirut. Hope you all have a nice day. TWA 847, out."
The controller wanted to protest, but at that moment, a representative of the Lebanese Minister of Defense came into the tower and handed the controller a paper. The paper read that the landing fees had been paid by TWA and that the aircraft was ordered to leave by the Lebanese government and the hijackers themselves.
Soon, the hijacked jet reached the runway and it was wheels up at 10:10am in the morning for the two and a half hour flight to Germany.
A little while later, we all arrived at Rammstein Air Force Base where Delilah, Daphne's sister was stationed and we witnessed many hostages reunite with their families including the two men we saw in Athens and the father who had his daughter's doll. As soon as we had landed, we all boarded a chartered TWA Lockheed aircraft with a destination of Andrews Air Force base.
"Look," called a voice as we boarded the aircraft. "That's the woman who gave herself up to the hijackers."
"They remember you, Daph," I whispered as we took our seats in first class. "They remember the sacrifice you made to the hijackers."
Daphne could only smile at this and know that her sacrifice was not without notice. Finally, the Flight 847 flight crew landed their Boeing 727 and parked it next to our charted plane. Seeing the hijacked aircraft land caused all of us to break into applause for we knew that our pilots had been freed from their own prison.
"Hello, folks!" cried John as he boarded the aircraft. "Let's get out of here, shall we?"
We all let out a cheer as the flight attendants came up and hugged their colleagues before taking their seats.
Shortly after noon, it was wheels up for our TWA jetliner heading west towards the United States…