RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Stormy weather delayed the "Freedom Flight" of a retired Air Force captain Thursday morning, but after the passage of nearly 36 years, the few extra hours of waiting didn't dampen his enthusiasm for the big event.
Wearing the flight suit of the 560th Flying Training Squadron, the "Chargin' Cheetahs" who had already honored 193 ex-prisoners of war with their own freedom flights, Brian Ratzlaff felt at ease back in an Airman's environment.
"I really enjoyed being in the military," he said just hours before he would officially become Freedom Flyer No. 194, the first in six years. "They're a great bunch of people to work with."
The 560th FTS' efforts in making the day a special one for him only reinforced his view.
"They've done everything to facilitate this flight for me," Mr. Ratzlaff said. "They've bent over backwards for me."
The story of his inclusion in the heroic fraternity began nearly 37 years ago. Mr. Ratzlaff had already served one tour in South Vietnam, flying 225 missions out of Phu Cat Air Base, when he deployed with the 335th Tactical Fighter Squadron from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., to Ubon, Thailand, in July 1972. Sept. 11, 1972, proved to be a fateful day.
"We were flying chaff missions for air strikes and I got nailed," he said.
Mr. Ratzlaff and his navigator, Jerry Heeren, were shot down in their F-4E north of Hanoi. Although Mr. Heeren was quickly captured, Mr. Ratzlaff managed to elude the North Vietnamese for a few days, climbing karsts and hiding in weeds, though the enemy was always within hearing distance. When he was finally captured, on the second night after his aircraft was shot down, he was taken to a camp near Lang Son for one day before he was moved to the infamous Hanoi Hilton.
"Some of the POWs had been there for five or six years, so what I went through was nothing like what they had been through," Mr. Ratzlaff said. "For the first week or so they were pretty tough on me, trying to get information. They even wanted naval information, and I had no clue about that."
The North Vietnamese placed Mr. Ratzlaff in solitary confinement for nearly three weeks, then moved him to another part of the Hanoi Hilton where he spent most of his imprisonment.
Mr. Ratzlaff was released along with other POWs in late March 1973. He joked that his captivity made him "appreciate cheeseburgers more," but in seriousness said it made him "appreciate what a great country the United States is."
In the book "We Came Home," which recorded the thoughts of former prisoners of war, Mr. Ratzlaff recounted that two things stood out in his experience at the Hanoi Hilton. The first was religion and the role God played in his life.
"I found strength, courage and peace through prayer," he said. "When I was put in with other prisoners, I found that my dependence on God was by no means unique."
The second was the support shown by the president and the American people.
"Both the crowds of people at all the airports where I landed, no matter what the time or the weather, and the hundreds of letters my family and I have received, have expressed their prayers and support," Mr. Ratzlaff said. "This has been a very moving experience for me. I believe in America and what it stands for and it is good to see so many Americans express the same feelings."
Mr. Ratzlaff's period of captivity was extremely difficult on his wife, Diana, and the rest of his family; they did not know he was still alive until four months after he was shot down.
"They didn't find out I was captured until they released the names of POWs (in January 1973)," he said. "My wife was pregnant (with their second daughter, Chrissie). When she heard the news, she went into labor."
After his release, Mr. Ratzlaff took leave to spend time with his family. He also made a career decision.
"At the time Eastern Airlines was interviewing prospective pilots," he said. "I was interviewed and was hired."
Mr. Ratzlaff said he had served two tours in Vietnam, and the life had taken its toll on his family.
"I didn't think they'd be up for another tour," he said.
However, Mr. Ratzlaff kept his service ties intact, joining the Air Force Reserve. He embarked on a career as a commercial airline pilot, first with Eastern and later with Express One and Northwest. He retired in 2004 and lives in Davisburg, Mich., with his wife.
Mr. Ratzlaff, who is involved in veterans' organizations such as the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association and the Son Tay Raider Association, said he knew about the Freedom Flyers but wasn't sure if the program was still active when he talked to a longtime friend, retired Gen. Paul Hester, former commander of the Pacific Air Forces and a San Antonio resident, last fall.
"He asked me if I had done it before," Mr. Ratzlaff said. "He said he'd find out, then made an inquiry and found out it was still available."
Diana Ratzlaff called her husband's freedom flight "a fabulous opportunity."
"We thought the time had passed and we wouldn't be able to do this," she said. "We're grateful to General Hester to get the plans moving."
Mr. Ratzlaff saw his freedom flight as a "mission to complete."
"It's good to be in a flight suit again," he said.