This emotional moment was 52 years in the making. Photo / Twitter
This emotional moment was 52 years in the making. Photo / Twitter
An entire airport came to a standstill on Thursday as a Southwest Airlines pilot landed at Love Field Airport in Dallas, Texas.
People that were rushing to their gate, stopped in their tracks.
This was the most emotional flight Captain Bryan Knight had ever made.
He had just landed homewith the remains of his father who was killed during the Vietnam War. The last time he had seen his dad was 52 years ago at the very same terminal.
Air force Colonel Roy Knight Jr. of Milsaps, Texas was a fighter pilot who was shot down on a mission in northern Laos on May 19, 1967. His body was never recovered because of the hostile location where his plane crashed.
Passengers watched on as the pilot unloaded his deceased father who died in the Vietnam War. Photo / Twitter
The air force declared him dead in 1974 and his family was forced to move on without closure. That was, until now.
Mr Knight, who works for Southwest Airlines, was five when he saw his dad leave for war from Love Field Airport, news.com.au reports.
As he made the emotional landing on Thursday to the runway, and finally brought his dad home, a large crowd gathered at the airport. The casket, draped with an American flag, was unloaded from the aircraft.
According to Colonel Knight's obituary, he served as a typing clerk in the Philippines, Japan and Korea before becoming a fighter pilot. He and his wife, Patricia, had three children while he served in the military.
One of the passengers who witnessed the emotional moment said the airport came to a complete standstill.
"I've been on Twitter for 10 1/2 years. This thread today is the best thread I've ever read," one person wrote after seeing the images.
"If you don't get choked up read(ing) that thread you may be dead," another added.
Colonel Knight's remains were discovered earlier this year by a team investigating crash sites in northern Laos. DPAA scientists used dental remains to positively identify the missing Vietnam War pilot.
