Borne on a friendly tail wind, the big, potbellied C-97 reached the California coast nearly an hour ahead of schedule. The pilot radioed ahead for instructions, and the word came back: slow down. By the time the plane touched ground at Travis Air Force Base and taxied into the television and newsreel lights one night last week, everything was in readiness. Air police tried to hold back a cheering crowd of 500. As soon as the ramp was lowered, a beaming woman hurried up into the outstretched arms of her husband. There, in the relative privacy of the big...
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