Some of you may have heard about this incident where pirates took over a US flagged ship, which resulted in Navy Seals taking out three pirates and saving the life of the Captain. Captain Phillips will be arriving home today around 4:00pm EDT in what is sure to be an emotional affair. The Phillips family requested that the Vermont Governor send President Obama a 'thank you' letter for getting our hero home safe.
Story:
Capt. Richard Phillips was scheduled to fly home to Vermont on Friday, a sudden but reluctant celebrity after being held captive by pirates for five days followed by a high-stakes rescue mission by Navy SEALS on Easter.
Phillips, 53, is expected to arrive by chartered plane between 3:45 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. ET at a charter flight terminal adjacent to Burlington International Airport in South Burlington, Vt., where he will be greeted by his wife and family — and a huge media contingent.
Phillips will have a private reunion with his wife, Andrea, and their family at the Heritage Flight terminal, give a brief statement and then go home to Underhill, Vt.
This will obviously be something of a media circus. It doesn't appear that the family will be doing any interviews right away. Certainly understandable, given that they will have just reunited and will want some time to catch up with Captain Phillips. However, they were gracious enough to send thanks to the President for his handling of this affair:
Douglas also said that, at the family's request, he sent a letter to President Obama to thank him and the military for their handling of the Maersk Alabama piracy incident and for Phillips' rescue.
"I want to express my sincere appreciation for your decisive actions to assure the release of Captain Richard Phillips," the letter said in part. "This ordeal has underscored the lawlessness of that region ... I urge you to continue to make this a top priority."
The state's congressional delegation also is planning to introduce a resolution next week to honor Phillips' heroism and commend the military and the Obama administration for the successful effort to rescue him.
Obviously, the family didn't have to do this, and President Obama will probably not say much about it, given that the raving lunatics on the Right are so deranged that they would attack him (that and the President is too humble to say much). One has to wonder if an attack against the family is coming. Sean Hannity has been particularly unhinged, so much so that even other right wingers are telling him to STFU. Case in point:
If you can, make sure to catch the reunion of the family. It's sure to be an emotional affair.