| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: WoT |
| Cap't Phillips is Home: Thanks His Heroes |
| 2009-04-17 |
| If you get a chance to see the video of he and his wife speaking before many microphones, do so. What great Americans they are! Richard Phillips, who was freed from his ordeal with Somali pirates on Easter Sunday, landed in Burlington, Vt., late Friday afternoon on a small blue Maersk chartered jet. Embraced by his wife and daughter, Phillips gave as a wave as he exited the plane at Burlington International Airport with other family members. A few minutes later, the captain told the media he is not a hero. "I'm not a hero, the military is. Thank them." he said. "They are doing an impossible job. I would not be here without them." Phillips also thanked his family, his crew, his company and all Americans for their prayers and support during the difficult time. "We're just seamen, we do the best we can with what we've got," he said. Phillips' wife said this is not a typical homecoming for the family. "This is truly one of the happiest moments of our lives -- having Richard home," she said. "I've always been proud to call myself an American. Today I am even prouder." Relieved and jubilant, a small Vermont town that held its breath for five tense days got ready to welcome back its 53-year-old hero Friday, a shipping captain whose high-seas hostage drama riveted the world. The white picket fence in front of his home was festooned with homemade signs, ribbons and bows. Phillips was to be feted at home with his favorite beer, a chicken pot pie made by a friend and brownies made by his mother-in-law. There was no immediate plan for a parade or public celebration, owing to the family's status as somewhat reluctant celebrities. "We're respecting the family's wishes and waiting to see what they'd like to do," said Kari Papelbon, the town's zoning administrator. But all around town, the yellow ribbons that came to symbolize Underhill's hope during the five days of Phillips' captivity fluttered in a spring breeze, with lots of late additions as his arrival drew near. There was a "Welcome Home Captain" sign in front of the Stitch In Time yarn shop, a "Welcome Home Captain Phillips" sign in front of Browns River Middle School and a "Welcome Home Captain Phillips" tar paper sign affixed to a red barn across the street from the family's home. Just as telling were a pair of posterboard signs on the fence in front of Phillips' home. "Thank You for Your Prayers," said one. "Please Give Us Some Time as a Family," said another, a polite message to members of the media and anyone else hoping to get close. Police also had kept people away from the airport. Still, two women inspired by the bravery of Phillips, who gave himself to the pirates as a hostage to save his Maersk Alabama crew, sat in the airport's parking lot with a sign to welcome him home: "You're a good man, Captain Phillips," it read. "We're so, so proud of him," said Lynn Coeby, of Ripton, alongside her mother, Eleanor Coeby. "We think that he has such character and morals and ethics to potentially put his life at risk for his crew, and we wanted to be here to say we think he's a good man." Other crew members marked homecomings this week, as well. On Sunday, just days after returning to his home in New York City's Harlem neighborhood, William Rios will be in the pews at Second St. John Baptist Church. The Rev. Robert Jones said that he has spoken to Rios since his return and that he agreed to speak during the morning service. Jones also said Rios told him about his ordeal in a telephone conversation. "He was very afraid," Jones said. "He said, 'I was afraid because I didn't know what was going to happen.' He's thanking God, and we're thanking God." |
| Posted by:Sherry |
| #3 File that thought under "who gives a shit," ed. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2009-04-17 23:25 |
| #2 he totally credits his rescuers - The Seals - as heroes (they are), but he's a humble man. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-04-17 20:24 |
| #1 Gee, I wonder what Janeane Garofalo has to say about the Phillips' and the entire crew of the Maersk Alabama? |
| Posted by: ed 2009-04-17 19:21 |