WHOOOOOOOOO!!!
Thank God!!!!!
Just glad it was not him who died.
I pray for the familys that did. God Bless America.
Hugs, kisses welcome fliers home
WILLIAM L. HOLMES
Associated Press
Pilot Dan King kisses his son, Nate, 21 months, on the tarmac of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro. JEFF SINER
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE -The first F-15E Strike Eagles to return from the war on Iraq glided over a tarmac sprinkled with cheering well-wishers and eager family members before touching down Wednesday.
They cruised single file to their assigned parking spots before simultaneously cutting their engines and raising their canopies in unison.
After a last few minutes of business, they swung their children off their feet and embraced their wives.
"Everything else is secondary," said Lt. Col. Randy Roberts, a pilot who flew home one of the dozen planes of the 336th Fighter Squadron of Seymour Johnson's 4th Fighter Wing that have been stationed in southwest Asia since January.
In the five weeks since the war started, many of the pilots have flown hundreds of missions over Iraq, bombing buildings and troops to clear the way for U.S. forces on the ground.
"We beat up the Iraqis real well," said Capt. Dan King, 33, a pilot clutching his 21-month-old son, Nate, near his wife, Lara. "It was just an honor to serve."
About half of the 98 Strike Eagles stationed at Seymour Johnson were deployed for the war effort, along with more than 1,000 airmen. About 100 have returned since Friday and about 1,000 remain deployed, said base spokeswoman Lt. Beverly Mock, who declined to give more specific figures.
The Air Force uses about 200 F-15Es, with about half stationed at Seymour Johnson. The $30 million fighter jets have two-person crews.
The jets returned on the same day the Pentagon released the identity of the second of two fliers killed in a Strike Eagle over Iraq. It was based at Seymour Johnson.
Maj. William "Salty" Watkins III, 37, of South Boston, Va., was the fighter jet's weapons system officer. Officials released the identity of the pilot, Capt. Eric Das of Amarillo, Texas, last week.
The military has not said whether the plane was shot down or was lost under other circumstances on April 7.
Roberts said members of his squadron heard about the lost plane within hours of its disappearance. He advised his men to wait until they returned home to grieve.
"The pace of combat ops allows you to take a step back for about five minutes ... and then you have to jump back into it," he said, clutching a wrapped cigar and a red rose.
Gov. Mike Easley arrived about an hour before the first planes landed at 5:40 p.m. to personally welcome them.
"These are true war heroes," Easley said. "It will come to light over some period of time what they've done. It's a lot. We have to be here to say thanks. They're heroes not only in North Carolina, not only in America, but around the world."
King and others were hesitant to describe their missions in detail. He did say their sorties lasted three to eight hours each, during which they dropped laser-guided bombs on military targets at first and then provided air support for troops.
"It was up close and personal, especially at night," he said, when pilots could see ordnance fired at them.
The planes were marked with personal touches. The nose of one had a painting of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein centered inside a set of crosshairs. A drawing of the cartoon character Porky Pig was ringed with a message of retribution: "What comes around goes around."
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/5702719.htm
I am grateful and support our troops 100% in their effort in the middle east. I was in israel/jordan/egypt just a few years back, and I had an amazing time... it's a beautiful place, filled with historical treasures. Ya, a little off topic, but still worth saying 
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