A Secret We Share

When a commercial airliner crosses international boundaries and wanders into protected airspace, drastic actions are sometimes taken to resolve the situation. Those actions are often swift and fatal, yet the consequences can long outlive the crisis. John Laird was a passenger on a commercial plane going somewhere he didn't want to go. What resulted was a nightmare that would never seem to end.

"As I was lifted effortlessly off the water toward the helicopter above, I saw for the first time below me a scene of destruction and disaster on the surface of the Sea of Japan. In front of me was a dusky panorama of fiery remnants of the plane. Hundreds of suitcases littered the rolling water as far as I could see. The water around them was also burning. It looked like a minefield. As I struggled to focus my eyes, I realized that many of the objects floating motionless below were wrapped in bright-yellow life jackets. I had no emotion but realized then why it had taken so long to find one survivor in the middle of this disaster. As I reached the helicopter, I saw a friendly face. On his helmet where I expected to see a white star with the horizontal bars of the US Air Force, I saw a Red Star. I didn't care tonight. I was safe. Again, I slowly slipped into unconsciousness, and the gruesome scene below disappeared. It was a scene I would endlessly unravel one piece at a time during the lonely, isolated years ahead."