I was a flight attendant, working for Braniff, in the late 1970's. We'd just had a layover in London, and were getting the 747 ready to depart, heading back to Dallas. We were late leaving, so I walked up front to ask the other flight attendants about the delay. I was told we were waiting for some passengers from another flight. About that time, a group of men boarded the plane and sat in First Class. They were disgusting looking men . . filthy, hadn't bathed or showered for days, and they stunk to high heavens. What was weird though, is that several of them were carrying briefcases that were handcuffed to their wrists. All I thought was, glad I'm working the coach cabin. God those guys stunk!
We land in Dallas, those men are the first off the aircraft, but didn't walk down the jetway, into the airport, and proceed to customs. As soon as they stepped foot into the jetway, the open the door to the stairs, and got into a limo that was waiting on them. I thought nothing more of it . . I was tired after the 8 hour flight.
Went home, turned on the tv, and I'll be, all over the news were those men on the airplane, who Ross Perot had hired to rescue his EDS Employees, who were taken as hostages in the Iranian Revolution and held in a prison in Tehran!! Those briefcases handcuffed to their wrists were full of cash, to cross borders and get the hostages out safely.
The mercenaries had made it all the way to the Atlantic, boarded their chartered plane to come home, when the plane had a mechanical problem and had to return to the airport. So the backup plan was to hop on the Braniff flight, that I was working. I had no idea who Ross Perot was, or those men. But what an impact that rescue had on my life. I'll never forget it.
